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■ . i 


SHORT  STUDIES 


FOR 


BY 

CHAS.  S.  ROBINSON  D.D. 

Pastor  of  First  Presbyterian  CiiURcn  Brooklyn  N.  Y. 


NEW  YORK 

WYNKOOP  & SHERWOOD 

18  Beekman  St. 

1868 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867, 

By  WYNKOOP  & SHERWOOD, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  tho 
Southern  District  of  Hew  York. 


Eradstueet  Press. 


a £ 


S' 

'Ks<^  /z. 


TO 


GEORGE  C.  RIPLEY,  HENRY  IDE, 

ROBERT  C.  OGDEN,  ANDREW  A.  SMITH, 

ALEXANDER  M.  EARLE, 

$uper^inten^ent$» 


THIS  LITTLE  VOLUME  IS  AFFECTIONATELY  INSCRIBED, 


“These  are  my  fellow-workers  unto  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  have  been  a 
comfort  unto  me.” — Colosszans,  iv  11. 


7G2318 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/shortstudiesfors00robi_0 


PEEFAOE. 


chapters  of  this  unpretending  volume 
i^i^l  were  originally  presented,  each  in  turn,  in 
a series  of  familiar  addresses  from  the  pulpit  at  a 
Sabbath  afternoon  service. 

I have  noticed  quite  intelligently  the  fact  that 
oftentimes  the  lines  of  thought  cross  each  other, 
and  an  admonition,  an  inference,  or  an  exposition, 
has  been  repeated.  This  was  most  natural  in  the 
outset ; and  really  I cannot  see  any  valid  reason  for 
making  a change  now.  I would  rather  have  the 
singleness  of  impression  from  each  theme,  than  the 
mere  satisfaction  of  more  finished  work. 

The  usefulness  I hope  these  sketches  and  outlines 
of  Scriptural  truth  will  serve  is  very  simple.  Per- 


vi  PREFACE. 

haps  they  will  prompt  some  one  who  is  weary, 
encourage  some  one  who  is  tried;  perhaps  they 
will  be  suggestive  to  superintendents  in  preparing 
for  public  services ; perhaps  they  will  prove 
acceptable  gifts  for  older  teachers  to  present  to 
younger. 

And  if  they  fail  in  all  these  ends,  still  it  is 
a kind  of  comfort  to  myself — I own  it — that  I 
have  made  an  honest,  humble,  prayerful  effort 
to  be  of  some  assistance  to  a class  of  Christian 
workers  whom  I honor  with  my  whole  heart. 

74  PiERREPONT  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  ) 

December  1,  1867.  ) 


TaMe  of  Hontenta. 


PAGE 


I. 

A Child’s  Rescue,  . . 

1 

II. 

The  Model  Teacher,  . . . . 

16 

III. 

The  Model  Pupil,  .... 

. 27 

lY. 

Words  to  the  Y^eary, 

44 

Y. 

Life  for  Life,  .... 

. 60 

YI. 

Manifestino  Truth,  . . . , 

73 

YII. 

A Child-like  Spirit, 

.86 

YIII. 

God’s  Arroavs, 

103 

IX. 

Home  Heathen,  .... 

. 116 

X. 

Draaying-  Lightning,  . . . , 

135 

XI. 

Intelligent  Study, 

. 150 

XII. 

Only  Believe, 

163 

XIII. 

The  Teacher  Taught,  . 

. 182 

XIY. 

Division  of  Labor,  . . . . 

199 

XY. 

A Bible-class  Lesson,  . 

. 219 

SHOET  STUDIES 

FOR 

SUUDAY-SOHOOL  TeAOHEES. 


I. 

A tClbilik’a  ^c)5cue. 

And  she  called  Ms  name  Aloses;  and  she  said^  because  I drew  Mm  out 
qf  the  tvater.'" — ^Exodus  ii.  10. 

BOUT  four  thousand  years  ago  a little  boy 
was  saved  from  drowning  in  the  Nile  river. 
That  incident  forms  the  theme  of  this  present 
discourse. 

“Life/’  says  Jean  Paul,  “should  in  every  shape 
be  precious  to  us;  for  the  same  reason  that  the 
Turks  carefully  collect  each  scrap  of  paper  which 
comes  in  their  way,  because  the  name  of  God  may 
be  written  upon  it.”  If  it  were  not  for  this  name 
of  God,  possible  to  be  written  upon  every  human 
1 


2 


A CHILJOI^S  RESCUE. 


heart,  I would  do  Diore  atteDipt  to  interest , you  in* 
the  recital  of  that  Hebrew  babe’s  rescue,  than  I 
would  in  the  bursting  of  one  of  the  nayriad  bubbles 
which  broke  against  the  side  of  the  bulrush  vessel 
he  lay  in. 

Once,  when  our  Saviour  wanted  to  instruct  his 
discijales  in  primary  doctrine,  he  took  a little  child, 
and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them.  If  Pharaoh’s 
daughter  will  but  lend  to  our  imagination  for  an 
hour  the  ark  she  discovered,  we  will  place  it  here 
in  full  view,  and  make  it  our  preacher.  Our  lesson 
shall  be  concerning  the  saving  of  children. 

I.  Let  me,  in  the  first  place,  recall  to  your  minds  ^ 
the  perils  which  surrounded  the  life  which  was 
saved  on  that  memorable  occasion. 

1.  It  was  the  life  of  an  infant  child.  Strange 
indeed  does  it  seem,  to  think  that  Moses,  the  ven- 
erable lawgiver,  of  the  chosen  people,  once  was  a 
feeble  babe,  weak  and  wailing  as  ever  was  a nurs- 
ling of  three  months  in  its  mother’s  arms.  Yet 
tliis  was  lie,  lying  there  in  the  reeds  by  the  river 
side.  Look  at  him  a moment!  Surely,  he  needs 
not  to  be  killed  in  order  to  die.  Infancy  alone  will 
extinguish  that  insignilicant  glimmer  of  existence 


A CHlLD^S  RESCUE, 


3 


Just  leave  him  where  he  is  a little  longer,  and  you 
will  never  hear  of  his  going  up  into  Mount  Nebo. 
One  rush  of  the  waves  through  a crevice,  and  the 
march  in  the  wilderness  will  never  be  made.  One 
quick  gasp,  as  the  relentless  current' hurries  him 
under,  and  the  Bible  will  be  less  by  a Pentateuch. 

2.  It  was  the  life  of  a proscribed  child.  His 
nation  was  in  bondage.  His  mother  was  a slave. 
He  was  ‘‘one  of  the  Hebrew’s  children.”  He  be- 
came instantly,  therefore,  an  outlaw.  All  Egypt 
was  on  the  alert  for  his  life.  He  was  a tremendous 
enemy  of  the  government  that  was  building  the 
pyramids!  There  was  no  room  in  the  world  for 
male  Hebrew  children  when  Moses  was  bom. 
Aaron,  his  brother,  got  in  before  the  door  was 
shut.  Beautiful  maidens  were  those,  doubtless,  in 
attendance  upon  Egypt’s  princess;  but  between 
them  and  this  foundling,  socially,  there  was  forever- 
more a great  gulf  fixed. 

3.  It  was  the  ^fe  of  an  outcast  child.  He  had  no 
friends.  His  mother  had  already  hidden  him  till 
concealment  w^ dangerous.  It  must  have  been  a 
hard  thing  for  her  now  to  put  him  out  on  the  river. 
Sorrowful  hours  were  those  she  and  little  Miriam 


4 


A CHILLIS  RESCUE. 


had,  weaving  the  rushes.  But  this  was  the  best 
they  could  do  for  him.  He  was  as  much  adrift  on 
the  world  as  he  well  could  be;  and  that  at  an  age 
conceded  to  be  unusually  early.  Feeble  fight 
would  he  be  likely  to  make  with  the  hard  fortunes 
that  beset  him. 

You  pity  him:  so  do  I,  with  all  my  heart.  But 
I will  tell  you  what  you  may  pity  to  better  purpose. 
There  are  scores  of  sons  and  daughters  of  misery, 
drifting  out  upon  a stream  of  vice,  which  the  Nile, 
with  all  its  murkiness  and  its  monsters,  can  not 
parallel  for  peril;  a river  of  depraved  humanity, 
hurrying  on  before  it  everything  good  and  promis- 
ing into  the  dark  destiny  behind  the  cloud.  I 
think  it  high  time  more  was  doing  in  our  Christian 
communities  for  the  rescue  of  children. 

IT.  Let  me  tell  you  now,  in  the  second  place, 
who  it  was  that  saved  that  life,  so  exposed  upon 
the  margin  of  the  Nile. 

1.  Primarily,  of  course,  God.  Tins  he  has 
claimed  for  his  especial  office.  “He  gathercth 
together  the  outcasts  of  Israel.”  Here  was  a child, 
or|)liancd  while  his  j)arcnts  were  living;  homeless, 
when  his  father’s  house  was  within  sight ; deserted, 


A CHILD^S  RESCUE. 


5 


wlien  his  own  sister  kept  her  eye  upon  him ; an 
outlaw,  when  the  princess  of  the  realm  was  coming 
to  his  relief.  Who  put  him  in  the  midst  of  such 
contradictions?  Who  set  all  the  extraordinary 
train  of  helpers  in  motion  ? He  it  was,  into  whose 
faithful  face  the  Psalmist  looked  up  as  he  said, 
“ When  my  father  and  my  mother  forsake  me,  then 
the  Lord  will  take  me  up.” 

2.  Instrumentally,  however,  God  made  use  of 
four  agents  in  this  rescue.  And  it  is  because  all  of 
us,  in  one  way  or  another,  can  find  an  example 
among  them  to  imitate  in  forwardness  of  zeal,  that 
I mention  them  in  turn. 

A helieving  mother  was  the  first  of  them.  By 
faith,  Moses  when  he  was  born  was  hid  three 
months  of  his  parents.”  Prudence  and  piety  were 
joined  in  the  effort  made  for  his  relief  That  trust- 
ful woman  religiously  committed  her  child  to  a 
covenant-keeping  God.  But  she  did  all  that  human 
ingenuity  could  suggest  to  protect  him.  She  used 
the  means  within  her  own  reach.  Then,  with  un- 
wavering confidence  she  tranquilly  awaited  the  issue. 

A wealthy  princess  was  also  one  of  the  helpers  in 
the  rescue.  Pharaoh’s  daughter,  coming  down  to  the 


6 


A CHILD^S  RESCUE. 


water,  heard  the  wailing  voice  among  the  rushes. 
When  her  attendants  brought  the  curious  vessel 
ashore,  she  “saw  the  child.”  The  great  humanity 
asserted  itself  in  her  breast.  She  felt  the  sincerest 
sympathy  for  a creature  so  forlorn.  It  was  against 
the  law,  mind  you,  for  her  to  pity  him.  It  was 
“ resisting  the  powers  ” to  aid  a little  fugitive  slave 
in  those  uncivilized  times.  But  through  all  the 
meshes  of  conventional  exclusion,  through  all  the 
links  of  legislation,  her  womanly  instinct  found  its 
unhindered  way.  And  in  that  exalted  moment  the 
princess  rose  to  an  elevation  she  never  surpassed. 
She  planted  herself  on  the  rock  by  the  side  of  the 
Creator,  who  “hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations 
of  men.”  No  Christian  woman,  surely,  ever  does 
herself  and  her  sex  the  honor  that  the  merest  self- 
respect  requires,  until  she  is  able  to  free  her  heart 
from  all  trammels  of  social  distinction  and  caste 
privilege,  enough  to  cheerfully  do  good  to  any  poor 
child  of  destitution  and  prejudice,  for  whom  the 
corninon  Ihidccrner  has  died. 

An  inUillL(jcnt  child  was  likewise  one  of  the  parties 
that  saved  Moses’  life.  Ciuitc  a number  of  useful 
children  arc  mentioned  in  the  Scripture.  A little 


A CHILD'S  RESCUE. 


7 


lad  furnished  the  loaves  and  fishes  to  feed  the  five 
thousand.  A little  girl  led  the  Syrian  leper  to 
Elisha  for  his  cure.  A touching  spectacle  rises 
upon  our  imagination,  when  we  think  of  the  young 
Miriam,  perhaps  at  the  time  four  or  five  years  old, 
put  on  guard  just  out  of  sight  to  keep  the  family 
informed  concerning  the  fate  of  the  ark.  How  the 
heart  of  that  faithful  watcher  must  have  fluttered 
when  she  saw  the  royal  train  approaching  the  spot ! 
Miriam  was  undoubtedly  a very  bright  child.  She 
appears  remarkably  well  in  this  story.  There  is 
ingenuity  and  great  shrewdness  in  her  quick  sug- 
gestion of  a nurse — a Hebrew  nurse — and  herself  to 
go  and  make  choice  of  one.  What  is  the  reason 
children  may  not  be  trained  in  saving  children? 
There  is  marvelous  intelligence  in  some  of  them, 
that  might  be  turned  to  unmeasured  advantage,  if 
they  were  taught  usefulness  as  patiently  as  they  are 
accomplishments. 

An  affectionate  teacher  was  also  among  the  rescuers 
of  that  infant  in  the  ark.  To  be  sure,  this  was  the 
same  woman  mentioned  before ; but  she  was  now 
discharging  a different  office.  God’s  blessing 
brought  the  child  back  to  the  bosom  it  belonged 


8 


A CHILD'S  RESCUE. 


upon.  But  after  this  Jochebed  considered  her 
charge  as  belonging  to  Pharaoh’s  daughter.  He 
was  destined  to  enter  the  palace  ere  long.  She  had 
it  for  her  duty  to  prepare  him  for  his  eminent  mis- 
sion. We  read  in  the  subsequent  history  that 
Moses  was  educated  in  all  the  learning  of  the 
Egyptians.  But  it  was  the  foundation  of  another 
sort  of  knowledge  that  was  laid  thus  early  in  his 
career.  This  instructor  taught  him  of  God,  of 
truth,  of  equity.  And  I make  a point  of  this  work 
of  hers  merely  in  order  to  say,  that  the  mother  of 
any  child  is  its  fittest  teacher,  when  she  can  be,  and 
when  she  can  not,  that  will  be  its  best  teacher  who 
is  most  like  a mother. 

You  see  now  what  was  intended  when  I said  that 
you  can  choose  your  own  place  among  these  instru- 
ments of  rescue.  There  is  a share  in  the  saving  of 
children  to  be  given  to  the  youngest  and  the  ma- 
turest,  for  the  pauper’s  child  and  the  king’s  daugh- 
ter. Only  this  much  I urge  earnestly : the  river  is 
rising,  time  liurries,  the  ark  is  exposed. 

III.  Let  me  tell  you,  in  the  third  ])lacc,  wliat 
was  the  value  ol  that  lile  saved  in  the  ark  of  bul- 
rushes. 


A CIIILPS  RESCUE. 


Measured  by  any  standard  of  earthly  estimate,  ii 
would  not  pass  for  much.  Indeed,  why  was  it  not 
better  for  an  outcast,  like  that  infant  Moses,  just  to 
slip  quietly  out  from  under  the  eaves  of  life  into 
the  grand  Hereafter  at  once,  and  die  peacefully  into 
a decenter  existence  than  this  ? 

Such  a question  suggests  folly.  Drowning  is  the 
poorest  of  all  purposes  to  put  a child  to.  The  res* 
cue  proves  the  finest  part  of  the  story.  One  thing  is 
certain,  it  has  been  handed  down  reverently  through 
forty  centuries.  The  child  was  worth  something, 
or  inspiration  would  not  have  been  so  carefully 
invoked  in  its  favor. 

1.  It  was  worth  something  for  its  beauty,  Ste- 
phen, in  the  Acts,  says  Moses  was  “exceedingly 
fair;”  the  Greek  is,  “fair  to  God,”  or  divinely,  ce- 
lestially fair.  There  is  in  the  countenance  of  a 
child  wonderful  power  to  move  any  man  of  sensi- 
bility. But  the  loveliness  of  infancy  becomes  de- 
formed very  soon  in  outcast  children.  It  is  a fearful 
sight  to  look  upon  a little,  old,  wise  child ; an  infant 
of  years,  with  maturity  thrust  upon  him  before  his 
voice  changes;  a wiry,  shrewd  politician  of  the 
streets  and  alleys ; keen  and  cunning  after  food  and 


10 


A CHlLD^S  EEBCUE. 


raiment  as  a wolf,  and  worse  off  than  a wolf  in  that 
he  has  to  procure  raiment  Believe  me,  even  the 
artless  beauty  of  a. child  is  worth  saving.  It  will 
be  one  of  the  dearest  sights  in  heaven,  the  sweet 
faces  of  children.  Angels  are  waiting  to  welcome 
them.  They  never  had  any.  They  were  never  chil- 
dren themselves.  They  are  all  of  the  same  age. 
They  were  all  created  at  the  same  time.  They 
never  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage.  Half  the 
human  race  die  in  infancy,  and  are  saved.  Oh,  it 
is  best  to  keep  something  even  here  to  remind  us 
of  the  joys  of  the*  redeemed  ! 

2.  It  was  worth  something  for  its  gifts.  At  this 
time,  of  course,  Moses  was  the  merest  infant.  No- 
body believes  the  foolish  stories  which  the  Rabbins 
tell  of  his  early  precocity,  or  his  boyish  ex})loits. 
But  wc  know  from  the  disclosure  of  after  history, 
that  there  were  enfolded  in  his  undeveloped  intellect 
j>rincely  possibilities  of  eminence  in  attainment 
and  exereJsc.  How  little  wc  know  about  this  ques- 
tion of  develoi)nicnt ! Look  at  youi*  own  hand;  it 
is  as  g(;od  hand  as  Michael  Angelo’s.  Why  can 
not  it  ])aint  on  canvas,  or  (^arvo  in  stone?  It  is  un- 
tauglit  and  unpi’acticed ; but  the  skill  is  in  it  some- 


A CHILD'S  liES CUE. 


11 


where.  So  of  your  memory.  So  of  your  imagina- 
tion. How  small  a moiety  of  any  man’s  nature  is 
working  at  its  utmost  power.  Look  out  now  upon 
these  undisciplined  multitudes.  • A shrewd  manu- 
facturer, up  among  the'  mountains,  discovered  a 
torrent  that  was  wasting  itself  in  irregular  leaps 
from  rock  to  rock ; he  gave  it  a flume  to  run  into, 
and  it  rolled  on  far  better  for  itself,  and  turned  a 
tremendous  wheel  for  him.  Why  does  not  some 
keen-sighted  statesman  or  philanthropist  see  how 
much  waste  of  power  there  is  in  this  frantic  strug- 
gle for  life  which  the  children  of  want  are  making? 

3.  It  was  worth  something  for  its  precioiisness. 
When  I look  in  upon  the  ark  where  Moses  lies,  I 
can  not  help  thinking  of  the  trustful  woman  that 
loved  him  enough  to  give  him  up  to  the  risk  of  the 
waters.  And  I never  stand  before  a great  audience 
of  children  without  saying  to  myself,  somebody 
loves  them.  Somebody  thinks  that  each  one  in 
turn  is  the  best  one  of  them  all.  There  never  was 
a little  child,  hardly,  in  the  world  that  did  not  have, 
for  at  least  one  moment,  a look  of  unutterable  ten- 
derness from  the  woman  whose  heart  leaped  up 
when  she  knew  it  was  her  own.  . Just  for  common 


A CHILD'S  RESCUE. 


iz 

humanity’s  sake,  then,  it  is  worth  the  saving.  I 
honor  that  matron  who  leaned  over  the  dying  sol- 
dier, and  whispered,  ‘^Let  me  kiss  him  for  his 
mother !”  But  beyond  this^  stands  the  great  love 
of  the  Saviour  for  children.  “ Take  heed  that  ye 
despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones.”  They  are  im- 
measurably precious  to  him.  No  creature  in  the 
universe,  no  matter  how  vicious,  no  matter  how 
deserted,  no  matter  how  repulsive,  is  so  far  beyond 
the  pale  of  charity  as  to  be  rejected  for  an  outcast, 
just  so  long  as  there  is  room  enough  on  his  fore- 
head for  grace  to  write  the  name  of  the  Lamb ! 

4.  It  was  worth  something  for  its  purpose.  In 
every  acorn  there  is  an  oak.  That  feeble  child, 
lying  desolately  in  the  ark,  was  mightier  than  the 
sun  rolling  on  its  meridian  way  overhead ; for  the 
All-wise  had  given  him  a work  to  do  under  the 
plan  of  redemption.  Jocliebed  little  knew  what 
history  she  was  weaving  when  she  plaited  tlie  bul- 
rushes together.  1’liat  tiny  hand  was  one  day  to 
wield  the  rod  of  Omni])otence  over  the  lied  Sea 
divided,  the  rock  riven,  and  Amalck  routed.  Let 
no  man  despise  children.  (lod  sometimes  charges 
even  the  youngc^st  life  with  a purpose  so  trans 


A CHILD'S  RESCUE.  Ig' 

cendent  that  the  angels  earnestly  desire  to  look 
into  it. 

5.  It  was  worth  something  for  its  destiny.  You 
look  at  that  child  as  it  is  borne  up  the  bank  in  the 
arms  of  its  mother.  The  narrative  of  the  rescue  is 
ended.  Pharaoh’s  daughter  has  a fresh  adventure 
to  relate  in  the  palace,  to  cause  a wonderment  for  a 
morning.  Then  the  recollection  grows  dim,  and 
that  Life  so  strangely  saved  seems  to  have  vanished 
from  history.  Forty  years  pass  by ; and  anon  it 
reappears  in  the  palace.  There  it  is  tempted ; then 
it  goes  forth  into  desert  experiences,  and  is  lost  in 
the  distance.  Forty  more  years  pass  by ; and  again 
you  behold  its  return.  A more  splendid  life  the 
world  never  saw.  At  the  head  of  a mighty  host, 
its  marvelous  march  has  begun  toward  the  prom- 
ised land.  Miracles  drop  from  the  extended  hand. 
Wisdom  untold  is  issuing  from  the  lips  inspired. 
Forty  years  more  pass  by ; and  now  at  last  you  see 
that  life,  with  natural  force  unabated,  and  eye  not 
yet  grown  dim,  going  bravely  up  into  Mount  Nebo 
to  die.  Then  you  have  reason  to  believe  it  is  fairly 
ended.  But  fifteen  hundred  years  more  pass  by ; 
and  once  more  you  suddenly  discover  that  life  on 


14 


A CHILD'S  RESCUE, 


the  summit  of  another  mountain,  in  the  compan- 
ionship of  Immanuel  himself,  grand  in  all  the  radi- 
ance of  gloiy,  with  Elijah  and  with  God!  From 
that  Tabor-top  of  wonderful  transfiguration  it  passes 
back  to  its  rest,  to  live  and  reign  forever.  When 
you  think  of  that  rescued  child,  think  of  all  this 
immortal  destiny  included.  Even  Miriam,  who 
sang  with  her  timbrel  by  the  Eed  Sea,  is  living  yet ; 
and  on  the  sea  of  glass  will  yet  sing  with  her  harp 
the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb. 

This,  then,  is  the  -lesson  we  learn  to-day.  The 
salvation  of  a child — what  is  it  ? It  seems  so  little, 
but,  ah,  it  is  so  much  I Let  me  give  you  just  three 
thoughts  to  close  with. 

1.  Learn  the  power  of  the  great  common  hu- 
manity. What  Pharaoh’s  daughter  needed  was, 
not  abuse,  not  long  exhortation,  not  tedious  appeal, 
but  to  be  told  what  to  do.  AVhen  she  “saw  the 
child,”  her  heart  spontaneously  responded.  Eich 
j)CO])lc  arc  all  human;  most  of  them  are  humane. 
^J’herc  is  no  good  in  judging  them  harshly.  Tell 
them  how. 

‘2.  licarn  the  best  kind  of  monuments.  Egypt’s 
king  buildcd  the  j)yramids.  Egy])t’s  princess  res- 


A CUlLD^S  RESCUE. 


16 


cued  Moses.  The  pyramids  are  out  in  the  sands, 
trying  mutely  to  perpetuate  something,  nobody 
knows  what.  Moses  lives  on  I Who,  then,  has  the 
truest  remembrance  ? 

3.  Learn  the  greatest  reason  for  thanksgiving. 
Thank  God  that  you  had  helpers  to  save  you  when 
you  were  a child.  “ Saved  by  grace !”  Oh,  what 
a motto  for  a man’s  life ! She  called  the  infant 
Moses,  our  text  says,  because  she  drew  him  out 
of  the  water.  Moses  means  “saved.”  Think  of  a 
child  called  “saved”  for  his  given  name  I Would 
it  ever  forget  its  history?  Well,  then,  is  that  not 
your  name  ? And  are  you  going  to  remember  that 
you  are  redeemed  by  the  precious  blood  of  Christ  ? 


II. 

TKc  Mobel  Teaclier. 

Jesus,  therefore,  heing  wearied  with  hAs  journey,  sat  thus  on  the  well, 
and  it  was  a'baut  the  sixth  hour^ — John  iv.  6. 

N eastern  traveler  tells  ns  there  is  in  all 
the  Holy  Land  only  one  spot  which  we 
are  absolutely  certain  was  trod  by  the  feet  of  our 
blessed  Redeemer ; and  that  is  a little  area  of  space, 
within  a circumference  of  which  the  center  is  the 
well  of  Jacob  in  Sychar.  All  other  localities  have 
been  questioned,  and  their  claims  to  authenticity 
arc  unsatisfactory  and  confused.  But  there  our 
Saviour  once  undoubtedly  rested.  What  a precious 
place  it  must  be  to  visit ! Few  of  us  will  ever  see 
it  with  our  mortal  eyes;  but  we  arc  going  to  it 
now,  in  imagination,  for  our  instruction. 

In  the  Scrij)ture  narrative  to  which  this  text 
introduces  us,  we  find  the  Son  of  God  fulfilling  the 


THE  MODEL  TEA  CHER. 


17 


office  of  a teacher.  Fine  exemplar  is  he  for  ns  to 
imitate.  Let  ns  trace  out  the  incidents  of  the  story 
to  the  end,  so  as  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  the  secret 
of  his  snccess.  For,  strange  as  it  seems  to  think 
of  it,  his  entire  class  was  converted  that  day.  We 
find  here  illustrated  three  characteristics : zeal,  tact, 
and  spirituality. 

I.  Observe  the  Saviour’s  Zeal.  You  may  see 
this  everywhere  in  our  Lord’s  life,  but  here  it  is 
more  evident  than  usual.  It  is  shown  in  four 
particulars : 

1.  He  went  to  a most  unwelcome  neighborhood. 
There  was  nothing  to  attract  him  there,  everything 
to  repel.  All  his  hereditary  prejudices  were  ar- 
rayed against  the  Samaritans.  The  Jews  had  .no 
dealings  with  them.  They  were  a proud,  super- 
cilious set  of  people.  They  called  themselves 
orthodox,  and  then  did  as  they  pleased.  Yet,  when 
the  whole  world  was  open  for  his  effort,  our  Lord 
“ must  needs  go  through  Samaria.” 

2.  He  was  satisfied  to  teach  only  one  scholar. 
A woman  came  to  him,  and  that  was  all  his  class. 
He  who  had  preached  to  vast  multitudes,  sat  down 
there,  under  the  hot  noon,  with  patient  fidelity,  to 


18 


THE  MODEL  TEACHER. 


instruct  even  a single  hearer.  He  spoke  just  as 
kindly,  and  talked  to  her  just  as  eloquently,  as  he 
did  to  the  ten  thousand  afterward.  You  know  she 
had  a soul ; and  when  there  was  a soul  to  toil  for, 
for  that  soul  Jesus  always  toiled. 

3.  He  labored  with  a disagreeable  pupil.  This 
woman  was  a great  sinner.  She  seems  not  to  have 
had  even  one  creditable  point  of  character.  She 
was  notoriously  profligate  (verse  17).  She  was  pert 
(verse  19).  She  was  argumentative  (verse  12).  She 
was  a liar  (verse  18).  The  disciples  wondered,  when 
they  came  back,  that  Jesus  spoke  to  the  impudent 
creature  (verse  27).  And  she  even  wondered  her- 
self (verse  9).  It  was  effrontery  unparalleled  for 
her  to  talk  as  she  did.  She  was  conceited  and 
brazen.  She  does  not  exhibit  the  slightest  sign  of 
modesty  or  shame.  Yet  it  is  wonderful  to  note 
the  forbearance  with  which  Jesus  treats  her  all  the 
time. 

4.  He  was  himself  wearied  with  work  when  he 
bcigaii.  One  little  word  there  is  in  our  text  that 
you  rarely  think  of  when  you  read  it  over;  the 
word  ‘OAw.9.”  Jle  sat  thus  to  teach;  that  is,  all 
W(n*n  out  just  as  he  was  on  the  long,  hard  journey ; 


THE  MODEL  TEACHER. 


19 


hungry,  tired,  thirsty,  over-heated,  and  alone.  Yefc 
you  see  no  sign  of  this ; he  talks  cheerfully  on  as  ever. 

W ell  then,  when  you  are  wearied  of  hard  neigh- 
borhoods ; when  your  mission  fields  try  you ; when 
you  put  yourself  out  to  go  far  through  the  rain  or 
the  sun,  and  find  your  class  thinned  down  to  two 
or  three;  when  you  are  thoroughly  discouraged 
over  some  vicious  pupil,  who  annoys  you  almost 
beyond  patience ; when  you  are  fatigued  with  care, 
or  jaded  with  unrewarded  labor ; — then  just  remem- 
ber the  Master,  there  in  that  despised  spot,  with 
his  one  scholar,  and  she  a hateful,  bad  woman,  earn- 
estly trying  to  do  her  good,  and  forgetting  the 
hunger  and  heat  that  oppressed  him. 

II.  Observe  the  Saviours  Tact.  That  case  re- 
quired a gi'eat  deal  of  wisdom  to  manage  it  exactly. 
And  the  shrewdness  with  which  he  interested  the 
woman,  and  the  adroitness  with  which  he  finally 
made  his  impression — that  was  his  tact  There  is 
no  successful  teaching  without  tact.  It  is  worth 
while  to  mark  this  example  carefully.  The  tact  of 
Jesus  is  shown  in  this  instance  in  two  particulars. 

1.  He  was  ingenious  in  catching  an’  illustration 
to  interest  her  mind  (verse  7).  He  took  her  water- 


20 


THE  MODEL  TEACHER, 


pot  for  his  text.  How  characteristic  this  aptness 
always  was  of  Christ ! When  the  fishermen  drew 
in  their  wonderful  wealth  of  fishes,  he  said  to  them 
they  should  become  “ fishers  of  men”  (Matthew  iv. 
19).  When  the  multitudes  followed  him  for  the  sake 
of  the  loaves,  he  said  to  them  he  was  the  “ bread 
of  life”  (John  vi.  35).  The  true  way  to  teach  is 
just  this — try  to  link  what  one  does  not  know 
upon  what  he  knows. 

2.  He  was  quick  in  turning  the  illustration,  so  as 
to  impress  her  conscience  (verse  14).  Jesus  knew 
he  gained  nothing  until  he  made  that  woman  feel 
that  she  was  a sinner.  Indeed,  this  is  the  essential 
thing  for  every  gospel  teacher  to  do.  The  Bible  is 
intended  to  lead  men  to  the  cross.  But  the  human 
intellect  is  dull,  and  the  human  heart  is  hard.  'The 
mind  must  be  arrested,  and  then  the  conscience 
must  be  ai’oused. 

Now  tlie’ difficulty  you  experience,  perhaps,  cov- 
ers botli  tliese  points.  You  can  neither  catch 
similitudes,  nor  use  tlicrn.  One  thing  is  very  cer- 
tain : the  licart  has  more  to  do  with  teaching  the 
gospd  than  most  people  are  aware  of.  It  you 
really  desire  to  do  good,  you  will  find  Cod  will 


THE  MODEL  TEACHER. 


21 


favor  you  in  ingenuity.  McCheynej  standing  before 
a forge-fire,  said  kindly  to  the  workman — Who 
can  dwell  with  everlasting  burnings  I”  Pay  son, 
when  his  seat-mate  in  the  coach  expressed  gladness 
that  the  journey  was  so  near  its  end,  put  the 
inquiry,  “Are  you  prepared  for  the  end  of  the 
long  journey  ?” 

III.  Observe  the  Saviour’s  Spirituality.  He 
made  that  entire  interview  religious.  The  purpose 
of  her  conversion  lay  uppermost  in  his  mind.  This 
is  shown  in  his  avoiding  what  she  wanted  him  to 
do,  and  in  his  doing  what  he  did.  • 

1.  He  carefully  avoided  all  discussion  of  irrele- 
vant matters.  And  the  more  you  study  the  story, 
the  more  plainly  you  will  perceive  how  much 
patience  this  implied.  Like  all  other  sinners,  the 
woman  wanted  to  talk  about  something  else. 

She  proposed  sectarian  questions  (verse  9).  The 
first  thing  she  did  was  to  fly  off  upon  the  differ- 
ences between  Mount  Zion  and  Mount  Gerizim. 
But  our  Lord  pays  not  even  the  compliment  of  a 
notice  to  her  polemic  hint.  He  does  not  mention 
the  Samaritan  tenets  in  the  whole  interview.  He 
talks  only  of  the  “gift  of  God”  (verse  10). 


22 


THE  MODEL  TEACHER. 


She  suggested  ritualistic  points  (verse  20).  She 
was  ferociously  firm  about  the  non-essentials.  Our 
Lord  baffles  her  again  by  the  quietest  of  all  eva- 
sions. He  will  not  argue  any  subtle  distinctions 
concerning  forms  of  worship.  Calmly  he  throws 
himself  back  on  principles  underlying  all  such  dis- 
cussions, and  urges  the  true  ‘‘  spirit”  (verse  24). 

She  ventured  on  speculative  inquiries  (verse  25). 
It  is  curious  to  observe  how  she  found  herself 
befogged  in  her  own  dogmatism,  and  majestically 
referred  the  question  she  had  raised  to  the  Messiah ! 
How  she  must  have  been  startled  to  -hear  her 
teacher  declare,  “I  that  speak  to  you  am  He!” 
(verse  26). 

2.  He  pressed  home  the  one  lesson  persistingly, 
which  he  wanted  her  to  learn.  She  found  herself 
thwarted  in  every  endeavor  to  ward  off  the  rebuke 
she  deserved.  One  all-embracing  purpose  was  in 
our  Saviour’s  mind  during  the  whole  conversation: 
to  make  her  discover  her  sin,  feel  its  guilt,  and 
come  penitently  for  pardon. 

He  told  her  the  exact  state  of  her  case.  She 
was  a dreadfully  wicked  woman.  It  was  needful 
she  should  see  that  clearly.  No  delicacy,  no  dif- 


THE  MODEL  TEACHER. 


23 


fidence,  no  fear  of  offense,  kept  back  the  truth  on 
his  lips.  She  was  to  repent  of  her  sins.  It  is  false 
in  fact,  and  recreant  in  spirit,  to  call  either  men, 
women,  or  children,  “innocent.”  They  cannot  be 
redeemed  if  they  are.  There  is  no  salvation  offered 
to  such.  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  make 
atonement  for  sinners,  not  for  innocent  people. 
The  very  argument  he  presses  in  order  to  show  his 
love  for  children  is  found  in  their  sins.  “The  Son 
of  Man  is  come  to  save  that  which  was  lost^  He 
is  talking  of  “little  ones”  when  he  says  that  (Mat- 
thew xviii.  10). 

He  told  her  of  the  demands  of  God’s  law.  He 
never  thought  it  necessary  to  lower  even  one  requi- 
sition, or  precept,  or  commandment,  in  order  to  win 
favor  with  a proud  heart.  No  doubt,  that  thought- 
less, imperious  creature  was  exceedingly  difficult  to 
manage.  But  there  was  no  kindness  to  her  in  cov- 
ering up  her  sinfulness.  She  was  ignorant : then 
she  must  learn.  She  was  fractious  : then  she  must 
submit.  She  was  exposed  to  the  wrath  of  an  offended 
God : then  she  must  be  warned.  “Now  we  know 
that  what  things  soever  the  law  saith,  it  saith  to 
them  who  are  under  the  law;  that  every  mouth 


24 


TEE  MODEL  TEACEEE 


may  be  stopped,  and  all  the  world  become  guilty 
before  God/^ 

He  told  her  of  the  Eedeemer’s  help*  Only  hints 
of  this  conversation  are  here  given  ns.  The  gen- 
eral points  of  instruction  are  all  that  the  Evangelist 
records.  No  one  tells  the  story  but  John,  the 
beloved  disciple ; and  John  was  not  present.  Jesus 
must  have  repeated  the  incidents  of  the  interview 
to  him  afterward;  and  so  they  appear  here  in 
brief  But  all  the  essentials  of  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion are  detailed.  Our  Saviour  taught  the  woman 
how  to  come  to  himself,  and  be  saved  by  faith. 

When  your  class  gets  the  better  of  you  in  the 
recitation,  and  in  spite  of  all  your  efforts  draws  you 
away  into  wordy  disputes,  think  of  the  Master, 
with  his  one  pupil ; and  never  forget  how  indefati- 
gably  he  kept  her  to  the  point,  just  by  talking  to 
her  concerning  her  own  soul’s  salvation.  Ecmem- 
ber,  always,  it  is  not  what  we  say  about  the  truth, 
that  converts  a soul,  but  the  truth.  And  surely  no 
teaclicr  is  making  any  real  advance,  unless  he 
brings  the  great  triangle  of  doctrine  in  personal 
contact  with  the  lilc  and  conscience  of  eacli  person. 
E/)wland  Hill  was  wont  to  say,  there  must  be  “the 


THE  MODEL  TEACHER. 


25 


three  R’s”  in  every  sermon — Ruin,  Righteousness 
and  Renewal. 

It  is  time  to  end  this  sermon,  or  you  will  not 
think  it  short.  But  suffer  me  to  mention  a few 
reflections,  which  you  may  dwell  upon  at  your 
will. 

1.  How  noble  an  ofiS.ce  is  that  which  Christ  here 
accepted ! God  never  sulfered  an  angel  to  be  a 
teacher.  No  one  could  lead  a soul  to  him  but  his 
own  Son,  and  those  who  are  like  him.  God  makes 
none  but  his  children  teachers  of  children. 

2.  No  person  is  beyond  the  reach  of  true  Chris- 
tian zeal.  Was  there  ever  a more  unpromising 
scholar  than  that  one  Jesus  had  there  by  the  well 
of  Jacob  in  Sychar  ? 

3.  The  real  object  of  teaching  truth  is  the  con- 
version of  souls.  The  mind  may  be  reformed,  the 
manners  cultivated ; but  the  class  is  a failure  unless 
the  conscience  is  reached,  the  will  is  broken,  and 
the  heart  bowed  in  penitence  at  the  foot  of  the  cross. 

4.  How  few  Christians  are  just  Christ-like!  Oh, 
that  great,  brave  Life,  that  spent  its  energies  in 
doing  good!  And  we  are  troubled  when  under 
slightest  inconvenience.  The  ancient  band  of  Re- 

2 


26 


THE  MODEL  TEACHER. 


demptorists  took  for  their  motto — “All  for  thee, 
blessed  Jesus,  all  for  thee !” 

5.  How  helpful  is  the  encouragement  to  be 
drawn  from  such  an  instance  as  this ! Our  Saviour 
used  no  peculiar  instrument  in  conversion;  only 
the  same  truth  he  has  put  in  our  hands  freely.  If 
it  saved  that  woman,  who  is  there  it  cannot  save  ? 

6.  The  ministry  of  reconciliation  needs  this  zeal, 
and  tact,  and  spirituality  of  the  Mastek.  Minis- 
ters are  only  Sabbath-school  teachers  with  larger 
classes.  Said  the  sainted  Brainerd,  “ Oh,  that  I 
were  a flaming  fire  in  the  service  of  my  God !” 


III. 


TKe  Mobel  Fujiil, 


“TAe  waman  then  left  her  xcater-pot^  and  icent  her  way  into  the  city^  and 
saith  to  the  men^  Come^  see  a man  which  told  me  all  things  that  e/ver  I did  : 
Is  not  this  the  Christ  T'' — John  iv.  28,  29. 


HIS  woman  of  Samaria  was  converted  by 
the  personal  disclosure  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
to  her  mind  and  heart  as  the  Eedeemer.  The  crisis 
of  her  history  was  reached  at  the  point  when,  in 
reply  to  her  suggestion  as  to  an  expected  Messiah, 
the  Saviour  suddenly  made  the  overwhelming  an- 
nouncement : “ I that  speak  to  you  am  He !” 

Spiritual  conversion  consists  in  the  revelation  of 
Christ  to  the  human  soul,  in  the  instant  when  it 
has  begun  to  feel  the  pressure  of  its  imminent  need. 
And  practical  conversion  consists  in  the  immediate 
surrender  of  the  entire  bein^  to  Christ  as  the  Prince 


of  Life.  Both  of  these  are  luminously  exhibited  in 
the  case  of  this  poor  creature,  who  came  to  Jacob’s 


28 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


well  with  nothing  of  her  own  but  her  sins  and  her 
water-pot,  and  ^ieparted  without  either,  having  re- 
ceived a new  hope  in  her  heart. 

We  have  been  over  part  of  this  story  before, 
seeking  the  characteristics  of  Jesus  as  a teacher  in 
a class  of  one.  We  return  to  it  again  to  find  that 
his  pupil  becomes  a teacher  in  her  turn,  and  sets  an 
example  worthy  of  commendation.  The  two  par- 
ticulars to  be  studied  now  are  the  spirit  she  mani- 
fested, and  the  work  she  undertook. 

I.  This  woman  must  have  possessed  considerable 
force  of  character.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  remarkable  dialogue  recorded  here,  you  can 
not  fail  to  notice  how  skillfully  she  employed  that 
much-abused  member,  which  the  Psalmist  calls  his 
“glory.”  Her  tongue  becomes  to  us  the  index  of 
her  temper  throughout,  and  follows  it  unerringly 
during  all  its  changes.  At  first,  she  was  sharp, 
pert,  and  argun.jntative ; but  before  the  conversa- 
tion ends,  she  is  really  an  altered  woman.  The 
spirit  she  manifests  has  assumed  a kind  of  positive 
attractivenc.ss.  Yon  will  sec  this,  if  you  mark  care- 
fully her  docility,  her  decision,  and  her  devotion, 
remembering  all  the  time  who  she  was. 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


29 


1.  Her  docility  becomes  apparent  at  the  mo- 
ment when  she  asks  her  first  favor  of  Christ. 

The  woman  saith  unto  him,  give  me  of 
this  water,  that  I thirst  not,  neither  come  hither  to 
draw.” 

Yon  will  be  surprised,  I am  sil:o,  to  learn  here 
that  some  commentators  of  high  repute  have  seemed 
to  understmid  that  she  was  only  proposing  to  Jesus 
that  he  should  relieve  her  from  her  usual  daily 
burden  of  coming  out  there  so  far  for  water  from 
that  well.  And  some  others  of  equal  intelligence 
have  declared  she  was  spitefully  turning  the  Sav- 
iour’s figure  back  upon  him  with  the  utmost  bit- 
terness of  sarcasm.  But  it  is  diffi^^ult  to  discover 
either  the  ignorance  or  the  malevolence  which  a 
mistake  like  the  first  of  these  interpretations,  or  a 
sneer  like  the  second,  would  imp'*/.  If  you  read 
the  whole  dialogue,  you  will  observe  how  abruptly 
the  early  flippancy  of  this  woman  collapses  into  a 
real  sense  of  desire.  Her  questioi^  must  have  been 
sincere,  although  somewhat  unintelligent.  Her 
mind  was  fairly  arrested.  Her  sensibilities  were 
moved.  And  even  if  her  yearnixigs  were  vague, 
because  she  was  both  vicious  and  unenlightened. 


so 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL, 


yet  her  conscience  was  touched,  and  she  truly  be- 
gan to  sigh  for  a better  life. 

Good  step  forward  is  that  for  any  teacher,  when, 
the  pert  assumption  of  superiority  all  gone,  his 
pupil  just  comes  frankly  admitting  need,  and  says: 
‘‘Help  me.”  For  at  once,  then,  does  the  promise 
begin  to  bear  with  all  its  precious  pressure.  “The 
meek  will  he  guide  in  judgment,  and  the  meek  will 
he  teach  his  way.” 

2.  Her  decision  becomes  apparent  at  the  moment 
when  the  wondering  disciples  returned,  and  beheld 
her  talking  with  the  Master.  Singular  picture  is 
that  which  rises  upon  our  imagination,  when  we 
read  the  slight  record:  “And  upon  this  came  his 
disciples,  and  marveled  that  he  talked  with  the 
woman ; yet  no  man  said.  What  seekest  thou  ? or, 
Wliy  talkest  thou  with  her?” 

^i^hcrc  they  hesitatingly  stood,  looking  from  one 
to  the  other,  convinced  that  something  was  unusual, 
if  not  wrong;  yet  not  one  venturing  a comment,  or 
making  an  inquiry.  Keverencc  kept  them  silent; 
but  so  bright  a woman  as  that  must  have  discerned 
frorri  their  glances  how  mueh  they  disapproved  of 
her  presence,  and  how  much  concerning  her  conduct 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL, 


81 


they  mistrusted.  If  no  higher  feeling  than  mere 
curiosity  had  prompted  her  stay,  one  might  think 
her  footsteps  of  departure  would  have  lingered 
until  she  could  learn  something  more  of  this 
strange  personage  who  had  disclosed  himself  as 
the  Anointed  of  Grod.  But  the  remarkable  part 
of  her  conduct  is  found  in  the  unhesitating  com- 
pliance with  which  she  hastened  on  her  errand 
away.  Her  promptness  knew  not  even  a mo- 
ment’s delay;  she  silently  withdrew  without  an 
inquiry. 

More  important  step  forward  still  is  that  for  a 
teacher,  when  his  pupil’s  mind  is  full  and  his  heart 
is  absorbed;  and  with  not  one  cavil  at  difficult 
doctrine,  he  fixes  his  eye  steadfastly  upon  the  duty 
of  the  instant,  and  seeks  only  to  perform  it.  Things 
are  all  going  well  when  any  awakened  sinner  hon- 
estly says : “I  thought  upon  my  ways  and  turned 
my  feet  unto  thy  testimonies.” 

8.  Her  devotion  becomes  apparent  at  the  moment 
when  she  set  out  upon  her  humiliating  errand.  One 
little  touch  .of  naturalness  there  is  in  the  story, 
which  shows  the  care  exercised  in  gathering  up  all 
the  fragments  of  historic  truth  in  the  ScrijDtures, 


32 


TEE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


that  nothing  might  be  lost : “ The  woman  then  left 
her  water-pot  and  went  her  way.” 

You  need  not  be  afraid  of  forcing  this  casual 
mention  of  a striking  fact,  if  you  think  that  in  it  is 
found  one  of  the  finest  evidences  of  her  conversion. 
The  vessel  she  forsook  was  to  her  a costly  sacrifice. 
Whether  she  expected  to  ever  regain  it  we  have  no 
hint ; she  certainly  risked  its  loss  among  strangers. 
Few  Jews  were  there  then  who  deemed  it  necessary 
to  keep  faith  with  her  nation.  The  act  appears  pre- 
cisely like  the  surrender  of  customs,  when  Matthew 
became  a disciple ; like  the  forsaking  of  the  nets 
when  Simon  left  all  in  order  to  follow  Christ ; like 
Bartimeus’  casting  away  his  outer  garment  that  he 
might  hurry  to  Jesus.  The  motive  of  this  woman 
is  not  stated,  but  conjecture  is  easy.  Perhaps  her 
mind  was  so  occupied  with  the  stupendous  disclos- 
ure she  had  listened  to  that  she  deemed  tliis  mere 
item  of  loss  insignificant.  Perhaps  her  desire  to  do 
good  was  so  earnest  that  she  feared  even  the  accus- 
tomed burden  balanced  on  her  head  might  hinder 
her  haste.  Perhaj)s  her  sense  of  gratitude  was  so 
aHectionate  that  she  willingly  left  her  valuable 
vessel  for  tlio  convenience  of  those  whom  she  knew 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


83 


to  be  nnsupplied  with  any  means  to  quench  their 
thirst.  Whatever  was  her  motive,  the  act  artlessly 
evidences  that  she  had  begun  to  devote  her  all  to 
her  newly  disclosed  Friend. 

True  religious  zeal  loves  to  write  Jesus’  name 
on  each  of  its  most  treasured  possessions ; and  you 
may  begin  to  feel  very  happy  when  one  of  your 
pupils  inquires  how  he  can  do  something  for  Christ. 

Thus  much  concerning  the  spirit  which  this 
woman,  nameless  and  unhistoric,  manifested.  Ee- 
becca  found  a husband,  and  Moses  found  a wife, 
from  a mere  visit  at  a well-side  ; but  this  Samaritan 
convert  found  that  which  was  better  than  either. 
The  Holy  Ghost  had  said  to  her  there,  in  that 
sultry  hour:  “ Thy  Maker  is  thine  husband — the 
Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name ; and  thy  Eedeemer,  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel !”  And  in  the  mystery  of  her 
spiritual  espousal,  she  became  endowed  with  graces 
richer  and  rarer  than  the  golden  gifts  with  which 
the  servant  of  Abraham  adorned  Isaac’s  beautiful 
bride. 

II.  We  come  now,  in  the  second  place,  to  con- 
sider the  work  this  woman  undertook.  The  exact 
words  of  our  text  are  in  point.  Connect  with  them, 
2'^ 


34 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


however,  the  remainder  of  the  narrative,  and  yon 
will  discover  these  three  particulars : the  field  she 
selected,  the  instrument  she  employed,  and  the  suc- 
cess she  achieved 

1.  Observe  how  singular  was  the  field  she  se- 
lected. It  was  actually  the  hardest  in  the  world 
for  her  to  enter.  Certain  necessities  and  accessories 
of  duty  there  are  almost  always,  which  help  to 
decide  concerning  its  character.  Just  look  at  these 
details  here. 

She  went  where  her  story  would  certainly  be  un- 
welcome. It  was  a Samaritan  city,  and,  knowing 
exactly  how  violent  were  their  prejudices,  she  was 
going  to  tell  them  that  their  previous  traditions 
were  untrue;  Gerizim  was  the  wrong  mountain ; 
tiiey  had  worshiped  they  knew  not  what;  salvation 
was  really  of  the  Jews. 

She  went  where  her  message  would  be  unwelcome. 
'jMiis  was  an  exceedingly  wicked  city.  Many  of 
the  j)eoj)le  were  no  better  tlian  she  was.  She  had 
IxJbre  her  the  hisk  of  arousing  their  consciences, 
as  well  as  of  convincing  their  minds.  She  must 
iKicds  ])rove  to  them  that  (Jod  was  a sj)irit,  and 
they  that  would  worshij)  him  must  worship  him  in 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


85 


spirit  and  in  truth.  If  she  should  succeed  in  draw- 
ing forth  any  adherents,  she  knew  that  Jesus  would 
attack  their  sins  first,  just  as  he  did  hers.  Hitherto 
it  had  been  considered  quite  sufficient  in  Samaria 
to  hold  orthodox  views  concerning  the  two  versions 
of  the  Pentateuch.  It  seems  to  have  mattered 
little  how  many  husbands  a person  had,  or  how  she 
got  them ; the  thing  to  be  sound  upon  was  the  dis- 
puted mountain  they  swpre  by. 

She  went  where  her  sex  would  be  unwelcome. 
The  record  seems  explicit;  she  addressed  herself 
“ to  the  men.”  Men  never  love  to  be  exhorted  by 
women.  They  loved  it  less  in  old  times  than  now. 
They  loved  it  less  among  those  eastern  nations  than 
we  do  here.  The  old  Eabbins  had  a maxim  that 
read  in  this  way Talking  with  a woman  is  one 
of  the  six  things  which  make  a disciple  impure.” 

She  went  where  herself  would  be  peculiarly  un- 
welcome. It  was  her  own  city.  Some  of  those 
men  did  not  know  her.  It  is  always  difficult  to 
speak  of  personal  religion  to  strangers.  Young 
converts  are  generally  as  diffident  as  they  are  zeal- 
ous. But  some  of  those  men  did  know  her — alas ! 
too  well.  If  there  had  been  as  many  good  men  in 


36 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


Sodom  as  that  woman  had  had  husbands,  first  and 
last,  in  Sychar,  God  would  never  have  depressed 
the  Dead  Sea  to  its  present  level,  and  Lot  would 
never  have  been  driven  out  by  a shower  of  fire. 
This  person  must  have  been  understood  in  those 
precincts.  Six  of  her -hearers,  at  least,  had  some- 
what intimate  acquaintance  with  her  antecedents. 
All  this  made  her  errand  awkward  and  hard. 

2.  Observe,  however,  how  simple  was  the  in- 
strument she  employed.  The  entire  sermon  she 
preached  is  found  in  the  compact  verses  of  the  text 
Analyze  it  for  a moment,  that  you  may  remark  its 
frankness,  its  earnestness,  and  its  ingenuity. 

She  frankly  acknowledged  that  her  own  sins 
were  discovered.  “ All  that  ever  I did” — that  cov- 
ered a great  deal  of  biogra])hic  ground.  Without 
making  any  ])retcnsions  of  fitness  as  a moral 
teacher,  she  disarmed  their  earliest  prejudices  by 
an  lioncst  confession  that  lie  had  found  her  out  on 
the  instant  S!:o  had  said,  “Give  me  the  living 
water!”  lie  answered,  “Go,  call  thy  husband!” 
Was  that  bringing  a serpent  to  one  who  asked  lor 
an  egg?  N(fi  S(;;  remember  always  that  convic- 
tion of  sin  is  the  first  answer  of  grace  to  a sinner. 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


37 


She  earnestly  professed  that  her  own  faith  had 
been  won ; yet  she  put  it  delicately  in  the  fashion 
of  a question,  “Is  not  this  the  Christ?”  So  bold 
an  avowal  must  have  cost  her  much.  Perils,  as 
well  as  reproaches,  surrounded  apostates  in  those 
days.  She  was  fairly  defying  the  tenets  of  all  her 
previous  training.  Solemn  moment  is  that  always, 
when,  out  from  a circle  of  worldlings  and  unbeliev- 
ers, comes  one  whose  heart  has  been  touched  by 
the  Spirit,  taking  a stand  on  the  Saviour’s  side, 
and  modestly  accepting  his  cross ! 

She  ingeniously  brought  her  own  experience  to 
bear  upon  them,  and  thus  converted  her  most 
manifest  reproach  into  aii  argument.  “All  that 
ever  I did”— not  what  he  did ; no  relation  of  sub- 
lime disclosures,  only  a mere  admission  of  discov- 
ery. She  appealed  to  what  they  would  have  said 
in  censure.  She  said  in  the  touching  refrain  we 
sometimes  sing,  “ Even  meT  And  then  they  knew 
there  must  be  something  in  it.  That  was  all  she 
said.  Her  message  ended  where  the  Gospel  ends. 
The  Bible  has  only  one  word  for  mortals  to  speak  ; 
that  was  the  exact  word  she  used — “ Come.”  In 
the  Greek  it  is  an  adverb  of  beckoning — Hither  T 


88 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


That  is  the  royal  call.  Christ  is  waiting  just  with- 
out ; we  enter  and  say — hither ! 

3.  Observe  how  extraordinary  was  the  success 
she  achieved.  ' I need  not  trace  this  out  at  length ; 
the  record  will  speak  for  itself.  One  woman  seems 
to  have  moved  an  entire  city.  Jesus  was  rejected 
of  his  kinsmen,  she  was  accepted  of  hers ; he  was 
threatened  in  Nazareth,  she  was  heeded  in  Sychar. 
The  last  became  first,  and  the  first  last.  All  this 
illustrates  the  wonderful  sovereignty  of  God. 

She  made  many  converts.  They  listened  and 
obeyed  immediately.  Then  they  went  out  of  the 
city,  and  came  unto  him.”  The  acquiescence  was 
instantaneous.  Did  any  one  ever  hear  of  even 
the  least  good  gained  by  delay  in  the  going  to 
Jesus? 

She  made  many  true  converts.  “ Many  of  the 
Samaritans  of  that  city  believed  on  him  for  the 
saying  of  the  woman  which  testified.  He  told  me 
all  that  ever  1 did.”  You  sec  it  was  her  own  ex- 
j)crieiice  which  carried  the  day.  A large  number 
seem  to  have  been  sj)iritually  renewed  that  very 
afLcrnoon  Why  do  many  good  j)cople  feel  so  sus- 
picious over  sudden  conversions?  ^fhe  sudden 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


89 


conversions  in  the  Bible  are  all  safer  than  the 
tardy  ones. 

She  made  many  useful  converts.  They  went 
right  to  work,  urging  others  to  come  to  Jesus. 
“He  abode  there  two  days,  and  many  more  be- 
lieved, because  of  his  own  word ; and  said  unto  the 
woman,  Now  we  believe,  not  because  of  thy  say- 
ing : for  we  have  heard  him  ourselves,  and  know 
that  this  is  indeed  the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world.”  Does  any  one  suppose  that  this  woman 
felt  grieved  to  learn  that  they  heard  and  trusted 
and  loved  Jesus,  no  longer  for  her  sake,  but  for 
his  own  ? 

Here  the  history  closes.  We  know  no  more  of 
this  Samaritan  convert.  She  passes  away  as  silently 
as  she  appeared ; but  the  lesson  of  her  life  lingers. 
What  shall  it  be  to  us  ? 

1.  Learn,  first,  that  no  great  talent  is  needed  to 
do  good.  Who  could  have  predicted  such  success 
for  such  a creature  ? It  is  piety,  not  education ; it 
is  spirituality,  not  culture;  it  is  experience,  not 
learning,  which  God  uses  in  conversion  of  souls. 
Yet  with  piety  pervading,  all  these  gifts  maybe 
made  to  help. 


40 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


2.  Learn,  second,  that  all  glory  of  true  usefulness 
belongs  to  Christ.  What  became  of  this  woman  ? 
History  drops  her  when  her  work  is  done.  One  of 
the  old  Fathers  records  that  she  was  named  Photina, 
that  she  preached  at  Carthage,  that  she  was  mar- 
tyred in  one  of  the  African  persecutions,  and  that 
he  saw  her  head,  which  is  now  kept  as  a relic  in 
Eome,  in  the  church  of  St.  Paul ! Pretty  well  that, 
for  a hierarchy  that  honors  woman  more  than 
Christ ! To  canonize  this  convert,  however,  seems 
to  have  been  a little  harder  than  common. 

3.  Learn,  also,  that  the  nearest  field  of  useful- 
ness is  often  the  best.  Many  people  spend  half  a 
life-time  looking  for  their  vocation,  while  God  is 
speaking  almost  audibly  to  them : Begin  at  home. 
The  prophet  utters  a most  significant  admonition — 
“ that  thou  liide  not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh.’’ 
Do  you  remember  how  kindly  our  Lord  dismisses 
tlie  man  out  of  whom  ho  liad  cast  the  legion  of 
devils,  and  who  wanted  to  remain  with  him  ? 
‘‘Ib)wbeit  Jesus  sulfcrcd  him  not,  but  saith  unto 
him,  Go  home  to  thy  friends,  and  toll  them  how 
gn^at  tilings  the  Dord  hath  done  for  thee.” 

4.  beam  that  there  are  occasions  in  which  women 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


41 


may  be  even  more  nseful  than  men.  They  have 
more  tact.  They  have  more  fervency.  They  have 
more  fortitude.  It  was  a mean  Jewish  proverb 
which  said — “He  who  instructs  his  daughter  in  the 
Law  plays  the  fool.”  We  ought  to  have  outgrown 
that  long  ago.  This  woman  had  a clearer  percep- 
tion than  any  Jew  Christ  had  yet  found ; for  she 
understood  him  as  the  Teacher,  and  they  all  de- 
manded him  as  a King. 

5.  Learn,  likewise,  that  common-place  self-denial 
sometimes  becomes  one  of  the  clearest  evidences  of 
grace.  To  leave  a water-pot  for  a thirsty  disciple 
may  possibly  show  a thoughtfulness  which  is  the 
fruit  of  the  Spirit ; while  to  surrender  a fortune 
may  only  show  a temper  or  mood  which  is  the  off- 
spring of  ostentation  and  pride.  Simon  made  an 
expensive  feast  for  Jesus;  but  the  most  acceptable 
part  of  the  entertainment  consisted  in  the  unan- 
nounced generosity  of  a poor  woman,  who  crept  in 
without  invitation  and  broke  her  box  of  alabaster 
lovingly  upon  the  head  of  her  Saviour. 

6.  Learn  that  new  converts  have  certainly  a fair 
field  of  usefulness  in  the  instruction  of  others. 
Even  the  conservative  Calvin  remarks  on  this  pas- 


42 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL. 


sage : “ She  would  have  acted  inconsiderately  if  she 
had  assumed  the  office  of  a teacher ; but  when  she 
desires  nothing  more  than  to  excite  her  fellow-citi- 
zens to  hear  Christ  speaking.,  we  will  not  say  that 
she  forgot  herself,  or  proceeded  further  than  she 
had  a right  to  do ; she  merely  does  the  office  of  a 
trumpet  or  a bell,  to  invite  others  to  come  to 
Christ.” 

7.  Learn  once  more  that  the  peculiar  privilege  of 
“him  that  heareth”  is  that  he  may  say,  “Come.” 
He  who  temporizes  will  be  like  Demas,  who  for- 
sook Paul  for  the  present  world ; he  who  calculates 
will  be  like  Ananias,  who  kept  back  part  of  the 
price;  he  who  covets  will  be  like  Achan,  who 
cleaved  hope  from  his  soul  with  a golden  wedge. 
But  he  who  gives  himself  wholly  to  Christ  will  be 
honored  as  an  usher  in  his  service,  opening  the 
door  of  his  kingdom  to  his  sons. 

8.  Learn,  finally,  that  the  best  memorial  of  any 
one  is  found  in  the  souls  he  has  won  to  the  cross. 
For  there  begins  a line  of  perpetual  usefulness  that 
can  never  end.  ^idic  Empress  Helena  built  a 
church,  at  vast  expense,  over  this  well  of  Jacob. 
But  the  j)rou(l  edifice  crumbled  many  a long  year 


THE  MODEL  PUPIL, 


43 


ago.  The  rubbish  of  it  clogs  the  water-course  even 
to  the  present  clay.  What  has  preserved  the  spot 
is  the  memory  of  a nameless  woman,  who  was  con- 
verted there.  And  while  the  world  stands  it  will 
remain  thus  sacred  and  unforgotten,  ^actually  the 
only  spot  in  Palestine  authentic,  as  having  once  had 
the  presence  of  the  Divine  Teacher  and  his  Samari- 
tan pupil. 


IV. 

Work  to  tk  Wcar^. 

“ The  Lord  God  hath  given  me  the  tongue  of  the  learned^  that  I should 
know  how  to  speak  a word  in  season  to  him  that  is  weary. — Isaiah  l.  4. 

HAVE  happened  in  my  reading  upon  a 
description  of  the  hieroglyphics  by  which 
the  ancient  Egyptians  represented  alms-giving.  A 
naked  child  was  feeding  honey  to  a bee  ; and  in  the 
child’s  hand  was  a heart ; and  the  bee  had  lost  its 
wings. 

The  details  of  this  symbol  will  bear  analysis.  It 
was  a child— in  order  to  mark  the  guilclessness  of 
si)irit  which  lies  at  the  center  of  all  true  charity. 
The  child  was  naked — to  show  that,  possessing 
nothing  of  liis  own,  he  was  willing  to  be  the  hum- 
ble almoner  of’  some  higher  power.  Jt  was  honey 
he  was  feeding  away  — in  order  to  denote  tliat  he 
was  bestowing  what  would  have  been  sweet  to  hiiU' 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


45 


self,  -but  was  indispensable  to  the  bee.  The  heart 
was  in  his  hand — to  indicate  the  warm  sympathy 
and  affection  prompting  the  service.  It  was  a bee 
he  fed,  not  a wasp,  nor  a butterfly,  nor  a drone — in 
order  to  suggest  that  only  a faithful  worker  deserved 
help  from  self-denial,  however  generous.  But  the 
bee  was  wingless  now — to  intimate  that  a time 
might  come  when  even  industry  would  fail,  and  the 
most  willing  life  would  be  in  the  straits  of  positive 
exigency. 

And  now,  although  this  was  the  fancy  of  a merely 
heathen  imagination,  I present  it  for  your  study  as 
the  finest  picture  I have  met  of  gospel  grace  and 
duty,  especially  as  exemplified  in  the  work  of  a • 
true  Sunday-school  teacher.  It  precisely  embodies 
the  meaning  of  the  text  upon  which  we  are  to 
dwell : “ The  Lord  God  hath  given  me  the  tongue 
of  the  learned,  that  I should  know  how  to  speak  a 
word  in  season  to  him  that  is  weary.” 

Here  we  find  stated  in  explicit  terms,  first,  the 
Objects  of  Christian  zeal,  and,  secondly,  the  Instru- 
ment for  its  exercise. 

1.  Among  all  the  names  applied  in  the  Scripture 
to  the  Objects  of  Christian  zeal,  I know  of  none 


46 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


more  comprehensive  and  affecting  than  that -here 
emploj^ed — “him  that  is  wearj.” 

1.  Some  are  weary  through  toil  “‘Man  goeth 
forth  unto  his  work  and  to  his  labor  until  the  even- 
ing.” It  is  not  easy  for  us  in  our  sumptuous  homes 
to  quite  appreciate  the  unutterable  disgust  one 
would  be  likely  to  acquire  for  the  ceaseless  itera- 
tions of  a narrow  calling.  Men  there  are  who 
spend  forty  years  in  fashioning  pin-points  or  drilling 
needles’  eyes.  Children  there  are  who  grow  old 
and  deformed  picking  off  the  flocks  of  cotton  from 
the  running  web  of  a mill.  And  these  people  be- 
come tired,  and  say  in  words  older  than  they  imag- 
ine: “What  profit  hath  a man  of  all  his  labor 
which  he  taketh  under  the  sun?  All  things  are 
full  of  labor;  man  can  not  utter  it:  the  thing  that 
hath  been  it  is  that  which  shall  be  ; and  that  which 
is  done  is  that  which  shall  be  done;  and  there  is 
no  new  thing  under  the  sun.”  The  world  is  full  of 
human  machines;  yet  with  this  difference,  machines 
arc  not  disgusted,  and  they  often  are. 

2.  Some  arc  weary  through  trial  A brave  man 
may  acc(j])t  with  iiU  submission  the  lot  which  God 
gives  to  him,  and  yet  now  and  then  lift  the  prayer. 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


47 


“Have  mercy  upon  me,  0 Lord!  for  I am  weak; 
I am  weary  with  my  groaning ; all  the  night  make 
I my  bed  to  swim;  I water  my  couch  with  my 
tears.”  We  think  it  hard  to  lose  a child ; there  are 
those  who  think  it  really  harder  to  be  unable  to 
educate  and  clothe  their  children.  We  think  it 
hard  to  have  a wife  an  invalid ; there  are  those  who 
think  it  harder  to  be  obliged  to  stand  by  and  know 
their  wives  are  hungry,  and  feeble,  and  sick,  and 
yet  can  not  help  it 

3.  Some  are  weary  through  neglect  They  feel 
alone  in  the  universe.  They  look  around  anxiously 
for  an  opening,  as  J oseph  and  Mary  did  in  the  cele- 
brated inn  at  Bethlehem ; there  was  no  place  then 
for  the  mother  of  Jesus  except  in  the  stable. 
On  this  planet  there  never  has  been  any  room  for 
poor  people.  The  population  seems  to  them  ex- 
ceedingly dense.  Somebody  received  title  to  all 
the  land  before  they  were  bom.  “As  for  the 
mighty  man,  he  has  the  earth,  and  the  honorable 
man  dwells  in  it.”  And  the  world  is  so  full  of 
mighty  men,  not  to  mention  the  honorable,  that  be- 
tween them  working  men  find  the  space  most 
amazingly  used  up.  They  go  up  to  what  seems  a 


48 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY, 


friendly  guide-board,  modestly  to  ask  the  way ; it 
turns  out  to  be  a fierce  warning  against  trespassing 
on  some  ones  premises.  And  after  one  has  wan- 
dered around  in  the  night  awhile,  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  a Christian  city,  without  finding  any 
lodging,  will  it  be  any  surprise  if  he  becomes- 
slightly  heterodox  ? And  as  he  looks  up  overhead, 
and  sees  only  that  dome  of  the  sky,  blue  as  if  made 
out  of  steel,  and  glittering  with  bosses  of  brass, 
will  it  be  strange  if  he  murmurs:  “Behold  the 
height  of  the  stars ! How  high  they  are ! How 
doth  God  know?  Can  he  judge  through  the  dark 
cloud?”  Would  you  be  able  to  reason  any  belter? 

4.  Some  are  weary  through  sin.  Some  are  even 
weary  of  sin,  and  would  forsake  it  if  they  knew  how. 

“ 'Blie  candle  of  the  wicked  shall  be  put  out;”  so 
we  preach  to  them  witli  sepulchral  warnings  of. 
God’s  wrath.  They  believe  it;  but  then  it  very 
naturally  seems  to  them  that  they  will  be  left  any 
way  in  the  dark  if  they  ])ut  it  out  themselves,  un- 
less we  j)r(‘a(*h  a little  further  on  in  the  doctrine. 
“1’he  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard;”  they  know 
that  as  w(dl  as  th(‘.  wis(^  man  who  wrote  the  Pro- 
verl)s;  they  an*  (juite  tiiH'd  of  it  already.  ^I’ossed 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


49 


about  upon  the  billows  of  a tempestuous  experi- 
ence, they  hear  now  and  then  a call — “ Come  unto 
me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I will 
give  you  rest.”  Thej  start  up  at  that  strange 
sound,  as  the  beggar  Bartimeus  started  up  at  the 
gates  of  Jericho,  and  with  passionate  earnestness 
straining  their  eyes,  pitifully  blind,  they  ask  what 
it  means.  I fear  there  are  yet  in  the  w^orld  disci- 
ples dull  enough  to  answer  even  such  needy  crea- 
tures, “Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth  by,”  and  then 
turn  with  violence  to  charge  them  that  they  hold 
their  peace.  Thus  the  “labor  of  the  foolish  weari- 
eth  every  one  of  them,  because  he  knoweth  not 
how  to  go  into  the  city.” 

Now  all  these  classes  of  weary  persons,  I am 
sure,  are  meant  to  be  included  in  the  specification 
of  the  text.  They  are  the  real  objects  of  Christian 
zeal  under  the  gospel.  The  glad  office  of  ^Christ’s 
followers  is  to  aid  and  to  succor  them.  The  Sun- 
day-school organization,  with  its  appliances  for 
visiting,  instructing,  and  mission-working,  aims  at 
them. 

II.  The  question  arises  at  once,  of  course,  how 
this  work  is  to  be  done.  And  that  leads  on  to  our 


50 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


second  matter  of  consideration,  namely,  the  Instru- 
ment which  is  to  be  employed : “ The  Lord  God 

hath  given  me  the  tongue  of  the  learned,  that  I 
should  know  how  to  speak  a word  in  season  to  him 
that  is  weary.”  Now  there  are  three  suggestions 
here  in  one  : the  feebleness  of  the  instrument  in 
appearance,  the  secret  of  its  incontrovertible  power, 
and  the  condition  of  success  in  its  use. 

1.  The  instrument  does  seem  insignificant.  'Over 
against  all  this  aggregate  of  human  need,  it  is 
soberly  proposed  to  set  the  exercise  of  one  of  our 
commonest  endowments — speech.  A word — and 
yet  “ a word  fitly  chosen  is  like  apples  of  gold  in 
pictures  of  silver.”  What  is  a word?  We  speak 
a thousand  and  mind  nothing  of  the  waste.  Yet 
God  used  only  one  to  make  all  the  world.  He 
stood  over  the  ocean  of  immensity,  and  said  to  an 
uncreated  universe.  Be!  And  forthwith  it  sprang 
into  existence,  iriajcstic  and  finished,  like  a new 
island  in  the  shoi’cless  sea.  To  us  one  word  seems 
nothing;  we  fling  them  around  in  careless  luxuri- 
ance; we  point  a moral  with  them,  we  adorn  a tale 
with  them  ; we  shorten  them,  we  lengthen  them, 
W()  inisjironounee  them,  just  to  make  them  musical, 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


51 


or  force  them  into  rhyme ; we  play  pranks  on  them, 
construct  riddles  for  children  out  of  them  ; we  fire 
sarcasms  with  them,  turn  compliments  with  them, 
and  put  them  for  stings  into  the  end  of  a reproach. 
And  yet  our  Saviour  comforted  Martha,  taught 
Mary,  and  raised  Lazarus,  with  a word. 

2.  There  is,  then,  a secret  of  power  somewhere  in 
this  instrument.  The  emphasis  of  our  text  falls  on 
the  expression,  “ a word  in  season^''  The  force  does 
not  reside  in  the  syllables,  but  in  the  opportune- 
ness of  the  utterance.  There  is  an  exigency  of 
moral  need  brought  on  by  the  Spirit  of  grace. 
There  are  crises  in  the  history  of  most  persons  in 
this  world,  when  the  soul  pauses,  as  if  poised  on 
the  very  pinnacle  of  decision.  It  is  settling  some 
one  of  the  grand  questions  of  life  and  eternity. 
Now  almost  any  thing  will  turn  it  one  way  or 
another  way.  Then  some  slight  preponderating  ’ 
impression  is  made.  “Death  and  life  are  in  the 
power  of  the  tongue.”  This  is  why  the  Psalmist 
so  often  calls  his  tongue  his  “ glory.”  The  wonder- 
ful power  of  our  Saviour’s  discourses  is  discovered 
just  here.  Ah  ! but  you  say,  never  man  spake 
like  this  man ; we  find  no  such  words  on  cur  lips 


52 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


as  Jesus  used.  Why  yes,  my  true  yoke-fellovf,  in- 
deed you  can  find  such ; and  not  only  such  words 
as  Jesus  uttered,  but  the  very  words.  He  defeated 
Satan  in  the  wilderness  with  three  verses  of  Deuter- 
onomy, just  to  show  you  and  me  how  much  light- 
ning-like force  there  is  in  one  of  those  old  books 
of  Moses.  You  have  all  of  them — the  Pentateuch, 
the  prophets,  and  the  apostles  likewise ; and  beyond 
that,  the  exact  words  of  the  Master  in  the  Gospels. 

3.  One  thing,  however,  needs  to  be  noted  closely 
as  a condition  of  success  in  the  use  of  this  instru- 
ment of  speech ; there  is  a caution  intimated  in  the 
text.  We  can  not  always  know  what  to  say,  or 
how  to  say  it,  by  intuition.  The  Lord  God  gives 
the  tongue  of  the  learned^'^^  that  each  of  us  should 
^'‘know  how  to  speak  a word  in  season.”  Now  this 
does  not  mean  great  scholarship,  as  the  world  terms 
it  This  learning  comes  from  the  Word  of  God 
for  its  text-book,  and  the  spirit  of  })raycr  for  its  ac- 
quisition. 

A Sunday-school  worker  needs  to  be  thus 
“learned”  in  \\\\^  intellect,  ddiat  is,  lie  must  be  in- 
telligent in.  the  Scriptures;  for,  you  observe,  it  is 
God’s  j iron  1 isos  that  do  the  work  of  helping  and 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY, 


53 


saving,  not  onrs.  Hence  it  is  that  “the  heart  of 
the  righteous  stiidieth  to  answer.”  No  wonder  that 
Job  for  once  lost  his  patience  when  those  miserable 
comforters  of  his  compelled  him  to  exclaim : “ How 
forcible  are  right  words ! but  what  doth  your  argu- 
ing reprove !”  Let  the  word  of  God  dwell  richly 
in  you.  Thus  many  an  uneducated  and  even  illiter- 
ate believer  becomes,  like  Apollos,  “mighty  in  the 
Scriptures he  waters  as  worthily  as  even  a Paul 
could  plant. 

A Sunday-school  worker  needs  to  be  “ learned” 
in  his  sensihilities.  That  is,  he  must  be  sympathetic 
in  his  applications  of  the  truth  to  individ>ial  cases. 
His  heart  must  be  in  his  offering.  The  essential 
element  of  this  kind  of  usefulness  consists  in  its 
cordiality,  its  community  of  spirit,  its  recognition 
of  the  great  common  humanity.  Remember  there 
are  just  as  many  notes  to  the  octave  in  the  poor 
blind  man’s  violin  at  your  door,  a^  in  your  daugh- 
ter’s harp  gleaming  with  its  gold  in  your  parlor. 
Prejudice  must  be  broken  down  with  courtesy. 
The  self-respect  of  those  you  benefit  ought  carefully 
to  be  kept  up.  Hence  a word,  kind,  womanly, 
brotherly,  is  sometimes  worth  more  than  even  ex- 


54 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY, 


traordinary  benefactions.  “ Weary”  people  are  on 
the  look-out  for  superciliousness.  They  get  a good 
deal  of  it.  They  suspect  arrogance  naturally.  But 
every  barrier  is  leveled  when  they  feel  a fraternal 
grasp.  Pride  disappears  from  the  defiant  eye  of 
poverty  when  they  see  the  heart  in  the  hand  which 
is  feeding  the  wingless  bee. 

A Sunday-school  worker  needs  to  be  “ learned” 
in  his  judgment.  That  is,  he  must  be  unaffectedly 
patient,  and  unsuspicious,  and  long-suffering,  and 
charitable  in  his  estimates  of  those  to  whom  he  at- 
tempts to  speak  a word  in  season.  We  are  often 
so  annoyed  by  sham  pretensions  of  wretchedness 
that  we  fall  into  the  habit  of  looking  on  all  these 
street-stragglers  as  if  they  were  only  fit  subjects  for 
penitentiary  discipline.  Some  of  them  are,  but  it  is 
cruel  to  class  all  poor  pcojde  promiscuously  together. 
Ask  many  a Christian  to  visit  with  you  in  the  des- 
titute neighboi'lioods  where  you  go  for  mission 
scholars.  You  will  iind  yourself  obliged  to  keep 
checking  him  (jften  in  the  midst  of  a well-meant 
ljut  most  |)re])osterous  lecture.  1 le  counsels  moral- 
ity, its  if  tiny  were  thievc’S.  He  advises  church- 
going, wlien  he  would  be  thunderstiaick  to  llnd  one 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


65 


of  them  in  his  pew,  and  when  they  have  not  the 
decencies  of  clothing  to  appear  in  the  house  of  God. 
He  hopes  they  keep  the  Sabbath ; he  is  sorrowfully 
surprised  to  find  the  children  without  Testaments. 
Now  you  happen  to  know  he  is  all  wide  of  the 
mark,  yet  not  one  member  of  the  family  will  tell 
him  so.  He  is  welcome  to  his  impression  of  them, 
only  it  makes  them  feel  spitefully  toward  visitors. 
It  is  hard  to  be  misjudged,  hard  to  be  considered 
vicious,  because  one  is  very  poor. 

A Sunday-school  worker  needs  to  be  “ learned” 
in  experience.  That  is,  he  must  feel  in  his  own 
heart  the  blessed  comforts  of  God’s  grace  before  he 
can  bring  them  effectively  to  others.  The  picture 
which  the  old  poet  Chaucer  long  years  ago  drew  of 
a faithful  minister  is  worth  quoting  to  you,  for  it  is 
just  in  point : 

“ He  paid  no  court  to  pomps  or  reverence, 

Nor  spiced  his  conscience  at  his  soul’s  expense; 

But  Jesus’  love  which  owns  no  pride  or  pelf, 

He  taught — hut  first  he  followed  it  himselfi'' 

Let  us  remember,  once  for  all,  that  it  is  not  mere 
fine  intellectual  power  of  adaptation  of  truth  to 
subtle  needs  of  the  soul  which  does  good,  but  spirit- 


56 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


nal  and  experimental  knowledge,  derived  from  per- 
sonal reception  of  the  truth.  The  untaught  Peru- 
vians cured  many  a fever  with  their  bitter  bark 
through  the  centuries  before  any  one  of  them  knew 
it  was  only  the  quinine  in  it  that  made  the  medi- 
cine. He  who  had  been  helped  gave  v/hat  had 
helped  him  to  his  neighbor.  I suppose  it  is  always 
true  that  “ out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the 
mouth  speaketh but  never  is  it  truer  than  when 
one  is  trying  to  speak  a word  in  season  to  him 
that  is  weary.” 

Thus  much  for  an  exposition  of  the  text.  There 
remains  no  space  here  for  an  application,  but  I will 
add  hints  for  those  who  desire  it. 

1.  You  find  here  a test  of  church  efficiency.  These 
words  were  primarily  spoken  of  Christ.  That  pro- 
noun “Me”  in  the  text  refers  to  him.  And  he 
accepted  tlicm.  See  Luke  iv.  14-22.  Hence  all 
true  Christi.Miiity  centers  here.  An  ancient  skeptic 
tlionglit  he  was  annihilating  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints  when  he  said  : “ Christianity  is  the  re- 
ligion of  the  sorrowful.”  Indeed,  that  is  ils  glory, 
and  one  would  think  there  was  room  enough  in  llic 
world  for  it,  too.  Our  t(*xt  constitutes  the  ])vno 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


57 


lamation  of  an  evangelic  system.  See  Mattliew 
xi.  2-6.  Hence,  back  on  any  cliurcb,  of  whatever 
name,  of  whatever  diversity  of  ritual  or  form  of 
creed,  falls  this  vital  question,  demanding  imme- 
diate answer  : Does  it  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor  ? 
Is  it  speaking  words  in  season  to  him  t’mt  ;s  weary  ? 

2.  You  discover  here  likewise  the  depth  of  indi- 
vidual obligation.  You  are  poor;  you  are  uu edu- 
cated ; you  are  busy.  The  point  is,  you  have  a 
tongue,  and  you  can  make  it  -learned  enough,  by 
God’s  blessing,  to  be  eminent  in  services  of  useful- 
ness. The  pious  Eutherford  wrote  to  one  of  his 
friends : “ Madam,  it  is  part  of  the  truth  of  your 
profession  that  you  drop  words  into  the  ear  of  your 
husband  continually  of  eternity,  judgment,  death, 
hell,  and  heaven.”  The  truth  plants  itself  in  our 
own  experience  ; on  peril  of  our  piety  we  are  set  at 
this  blessed  work.  The  hope  of  heaven  makes 
upon  us  the  sharpest  of  all  possible  demands.  “If 
any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none 
of  his.”  “Pure  religion,  and  undefiled  before  God 
and  the  Father,  is  this : To  visit  the  fatherless  and 
widows  in  their  affliction^  and  to  keep  onds  self  un^ 
spotted  from  the  worldf'' 


3^’ 


58 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY 


3.  You  learn  here,  also,  the  extraordinary  privi- 
lege God  has  given  his  children  in  the  form  of  their 
service  of  him.  The  lightning  strikes,  the  pesti- 
lence kills,  Avar  desolates,  and  all  these  are  instru- 
ments of  his  to  do  the  divine  will.  But  we  have 
only  the  beneficence  to  scatter,  the  mercy  to  exhibit, 
the  love  to  bring,  the  sweet  welcome  work  in  all 
this  weary  world  to  do.  And,  oh  ! what  a comfort 
the  reminiscences  of  fidelity  become  when  one  finds 
himself  withdrawn  suddenly  from  the  power  of 
working ! In  that  terrible  hour  of  liis  adversity, 
remember  how  Job  consoled  himself : Oh  ! that  I 
were  as  in  months  past.  When  the  ear  heard  me, 
then  did  it  bless  me;  and  when  the  eye  saw  me, 
then  it  gave  witness  to  me ; because  I delivered  the 
poor  that  cried,  and  the  fatherless,  and  liim  that  had 
none  to  lielp  him,  I^he  blessing  ot*  him  that  was 
ready  to  pcrisli  came  upon  me;  and  I caused  the 
widow’s  lieart  to  sing  for  joy,'’ 

4.  You  are  taught  lici-e,  moreover,  to  stir  up  the 
gift  of  (tod  that  is  within  you.  Some  peojic  think 
tliat  theni  is  a mysterious  miraculousuess  in  tliis 
al)ility  to  speak,  (htlier  in  conference,  toacliiug,  C(m- 
dolenee,  or  prayer.  Not  so  at  all;  spc'cch  is  one 


WORDS  TO  THE  WEARY. 


59 


of  the  most  common-place  endowments  in  the  world. 
But  it  needs  stimulant  and  skill.  Poor  Jeremiah 
once  said : Ah ! Lord  God,  behold,  I can  not 
speak,  for  I am  a child.”  Moses  once  said : O my 
Lord,  I am  not  eloquent ; I am  slow  of  speech,  and 
of  a slow  tongue.”  But  it  turned  out  that  both  of 
these  men  were  able  to  do  something.  Perhaps  you 
are  getting  “weary”  yourself,  and  need  a “word  in 
season.”  Be  not  weary  in  well-doing.  The  time 
has  not  yet  arrived  for  you  to  enter  the  land  “ where 
the  weary  are  at  rest :”  let  us  labor  lest  we  enter 
not  in. 


V. 

Ififc  [or  ILxfe. 

“ V&rily^  'verity,  I say  u'nto  you.  Except  a cor'ti  of  'wheat  fall  into  the 
ground  and  die,  it  ahideth  alone;  hut  if  it  die,  it  hringeth  forth  much 
frunt.  iTe  that  loreth  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  he  that  hateth  his  life  in  this 
'loorld  shall  keej)  it  unto  life  eternaV'' — John  xii.  24,  25. 

Saviour  is  here  talking  of  himself, 
has  been  instructing  his  disciples  con- 
cerning the  ignominy  of  his  coming  departure. 
Yet  he  does  not  seem  to  consider  the  fact  of  it  a 
misfortune,  nor  the  manner  of  it  a shame.  TIis 
words  intimate  triumpli.  “ The  liour  is  come,’’ 
lie  says,  “that  tlie  Son  of  Man  should  be  glori- 
fmiy 

1.  ^riic  pldlosnpJiy  of  a contradiction  so  startling 
he  now  goes  on  to  cxjilain.  Tt  consisted  in  the 
revelation  and  devolojiment  of  a higher  life  in  the 
instant  of  ruin  to  a lower.  His  earthly  existence 
covered  the  principle  of  an  existence  celestial  and 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


61 


divine.  He  was  to  become  the  life  of  men  by 
dying  in  their  place. 

2.  The  illustration  he  employs  to  exhibit  his 
thought  is  one  drawn  from  familiar  experience.  He 
says  to  those  simple-minded  hearers : Take  any 
common  seed,  such  as  a sower  carries.  Examine  it 
carefully.  Its  productiveness  is  now  all  out  of 
sight,  enveloped  and  imprisoned  by  the  remnants 
of  last  year’s  harvest.  It  will  grow,  if  it  is  planted ; 
but  the  present  form  of  it  will  disappear  in  the 
growing.  It  must  die  to  live.  The  dry  habiliments 
of  a former  existence  are  coarsely  inclosing  all  its 
promise  of  a new.  It  has  to  perpetuate  itself  by 
destruction.  Out  of  the  present  condition  it  wears 
it  must  utterly  perish,  in  order  that  it  may  reap- 
pear in  the  blade,  the  ear,  and  the  full  corn  in  the 
ear.  Activity  out  of  inertness,  increase  out  of  sin- 
gleness, are  to  be  secured  only  by  reproduction  out 
of  ruin.  “Except  a corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the 
ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone;  but  if  it  die,  it 
bringeth  forth  much  fruit.” 

3.  The  application  of  this  figure  is  made  imme- 
diately. The  Saviour  seems  to  say  of  himself:  I 
must  die  in  order  to  live.  I am  set  for  the  fall  and 


62 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


rising  again  of  many  in  Israel,  and  must  therefore 
fall  and  rise  again.  I left  heaven  to  save  men.  I 
must  perfect  m}^  purpose  by  dying  in  their  behalf. 
God’s  only-begotten  Son  must  be  crucified  that 
God’s  many  redeemed  sons  may  be  brought  to 
glory.  Life  for  life ; this  is  the  price,  the  penalty, 
and  the  payment. 

4.  The  reach  of  the  rule  is  now  extended,  so  as 
to  make  it  embrace,  not  only  his  life,  but  that  of 
each  one  of  those  for  whom  his  offering  was 
to  become  available.  He  avows  this  as  the 
fixed  principle  of  the  entire  plan  of  redemption; 
life  for  life;  life  of  the  lower  sort  sacrificed  with- 
out resei’ve  for  the  sake  of  life  of  the  higher. 
“ He  that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  he 
that  hatcth  liis  life  in  this  world  shall  keep  it  unto 
li((^  eternal.” 

II.  '^riiis  seems  to  be  the  true  exposition  of  our 
text.  Lilt  it  docs  not  stand  alone.  And  so  anx- 
ious am  1 lliat  tins  rule  of  the  gospel  should  be 
refM)gni/:ed  (jle.arly,  as  the  basis  of  the  counsel  I de- 
sire to  ])ress,  that  I olfer  the  corroboration  which 
our  Lord  himseli’  presents,  a lit th\farth(M’  in  detail. 
On  three  other  occasions  h(m'G[)eats  tlu^  same  gen- 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


63 


eral  form  of  representation,  with  only  slightly  vary- 
ing direction  as  to  its  aim. 

1.  Once,  when  he  was  in  the  region  of  Caesarea 
Philippi,  he  was  advising  his  disciples  seriously 
concerning  the  grand  'purpose  of  becoming  his  fol- 
lowers, trying  to  make  them  appreciate  how  muclj 
it  involved.  He  had  already  disclosed  to  them  tho 
fact  and  the  manner  of  his  death.  He  knew  they 
would  be  offended  with  the  prospect.  Suddenly  he 
arose  to  the  loftiest  ground  he  ever  occupied  in  his 
demands  upon  them.  Not  only  should  they  accept 
without  scandal  this  crucifixion  of  their  acknowl- 
edged leader,  not  only  must  they  hold  themselves 
ready  to  be  crucified  also  in  his  name,  but  the  Ro- 
man gibbet  should  henceforth  become  the  very 
symbol  of  the  new  faith.  “ If  any  man  will  come 
after  me;  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his 
cross  daily,  and  follow  me ; for  whosoever  will  save 
his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  whosoever  will  lose  his  life 
for  my  sake,  shall  find  it.”  The  reference  here  is 
to  the  act  of  conversion  which  pledges  the  believ- 
ing soul  to  Christ.  He  is  crucified  with  him. 

2.  The  next  time  our  Saviour  employed  this 
form  of  expression,  he  aimed  its  force  at  the  full- 


64 


LIFE  FOE  LIFE, 


ness  of  consecration^  wliich  every  true  disciple  of  his 
was  bound  to  cultivate.  He  himself  held  back 
nothing  from  his  work.  He  forsook  heaven  for 
earth,  angels  for  men,  wealth  for  poverty,  the  tran- 
quil felicities  of  his  eternal  Father’s  companion- 
ship for  the  restless  narrowness  of  an  humble  lot, 
without  a place  where  to  lay  his  homeless  head. 
He  allowed  himself  to  become  entangled  in  no  as- 
sociations, involved  in  no  cares,  fettered  by  no 
occupation,  that  would  hinder  his  entire  absorption 
in  preaching  the  glad  tidings  to  men.  This  exam- 
ple of  his  own  consecration  he  offers  as  a measure 
of  ours.  “ If  any  man  come  unto  me,  and  hate  not 
(that  is,  comparatively)  his  father  and  mother,  wife 
and  children,  brethren  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own 
life  also,  he  can  not  be  my  disciple.”  ‘Hie  that 
loveth  father  and  mother  more  than  me,  is  not 
worthy  of  me;  and  lie  that  loveth  son  or  daughter 
more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me.  He  that  find- 
eth  his  life  shall  lose* it,  and  he  that  loseth  his  life 
for  my  sake,  shall  find  it.”  Here  he  intends  to  ex- 
hibit the  extensiveness  of  our  surrender  to  him. 
He  gave  his  life  for  ns:  he  claims  the  life  lie  lias 
liought  at  sncli  a jirie.o. 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


65 


3.  The  third  occasion  upon  whicli  our  Lord  em- 
ployed this  almost  proverbial  form  of  expression, 
was  when  he  was  predicting  the  alarm  which  many 
would  feel  at  the  downfall  of  Jerusalem.  He  ad- 
vised all  who  were  in  Judea  to  flee  to  the  moun- 
tains ; to  remember  Lot’s  wife,  and  look  not  back 
on  the  doomed  city;  to  follow  his  guidance  and 
trust  to  him  implicitly  for  deliverance.  “Whoso- 
ever shall  seek  to  save  his  life,  shall  lose  it ; and 
whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  shall  preserve  it.” 
Here  he  means  to  counsel  fidelity,  and  forbid  fear, 
under  all  perilous  and  extreme  forms  of  trial.  He 
says : Give  your  life  to  me ; it  is  more  precious  in 
my  sight  than  in  your  own.  I will  keep  it ; you 
can  not.  If  you  attempt  to  manage  your  protec- 
tion, you  will  be  more  imperiled  than  ever.  Do 
your  duty  and  leave  the  rest  to  me.  “ He  that 
dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  shall 
abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty.” 

III.  What,  then,  is  the  instruction  our  Saviour 
desires,  in  all  this,  to  give?  Simply  this:  From 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  our  earthly  round  of 
existence  and  service,  there  is  only  one  rule  of  un- 
varying decision — life  for  life.  If  one  wants  the  new 


66 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


life  by  conversion,  he  must  give  life  for  life.  If  on^ 
asks  for  the  measure  of  consecration,  the  answer  is— 
life  for  life.  If  one  feels  frightened  at  peril,  h^ 
must  surrender  his  life  to  save  his  life.  If  one  in- 
quires for  an  unfailing  principle  of  success  in  use 
fulness,  here  it  is  furnished  by  the  Lord  of  glory- 
life  for  life.  Hence  we  now  reach  the  applications 
of  the  truth  we  have  learned  to  our  work  as  Sunday^ 
school  teachers. 

1.  Here  is  a picture  of  true  Christian  manhood. 
‘‘  None  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I my 
life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I might  finish  my 
course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  which  I have 
received  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God.”  The  motto  of  all  real  living  tc- 
Christ  is:  “I  die  daily.”  “For  thy  sake  we  arc 
killed  all  the  day  long.”  Just  as  a corn  of  wheat 
must  perish  to  be  IruiU’iil,  so  every  believer  must 
put  all  the  surroundings  of  his  earthly  existence 
into  his  surrender  to  the  Redeemer.  “That  which 
thou  s(nvest  is  not  (piickened  except  it  die.” 

\Vc  are  to  “ mortify  our  members.”  That  docs 
not  mean  humiliate  them,  or  shame  them,  but  kill 
them,  make  them  dead.  “ If  ye  live  after  the  fiesh. 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


67 


ye  shall  die ; but  if  ye  through  the  Spirit  do  mortify 
the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live.”  Hence,  this 
is  the  question  to  start  with : Are  you,  who  teach 
others,  yourself  dead  to  the  world  ? 

2.  Here  is  a corrective  of  all  sentimentalism  in 
piety.  This  continuous  martyrdom  is  not  an  acci- 
dent or  an  infliction,  but  a necessity,  understood 
from  the  beginning.  Hence  all  lachrymose,  lacka- 
daisical bewailing  of  one’s  lot  is  mere  meanness  and 
folly.  A mock-heroic  feeling  is  all  out  of  place. 
And  these  multiplied  forms  of  devoteeism,  by  which 
one  tortures  himself  into  maceration,  are  not  to  be 
mistaken  for  real  devotion. 

A monk  in  his  cell  is  no  nearer  communion  with 
his  God,  for  all  that  he  is  mechanically  separate 
from  communion  with  anyone  else.  ^^Jesuita;  non 
Jesus  ita^  A nun  is  no  more  a bride  of  heaven  for 
refusing  to  be  a bride  on  earth  when  she  has  the 
opportunity.  The  promise  of  a white  robe  by  and 
by  is  none  the  surer  for  her  taking  the  white  vail 
now.  These  may  seem  to  a few  silly  enthusiasts 
exceedingly  sweet  instances  of  unwonted  sanctity ; 
but  they  are  profitless  excruciations  after  all.  Burn- 
ing a corn  of  wheat  destroys  it,  to  be  sure,  just  as 


68 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


mucli  as  its  falling  into  the  ground  does;  but  the 
one  is  followed  by  a harvest  of  much  fruit,  the  other 
abides,  as  it  began,  alone.  It  is  not  necessary  for 
one  immediately  at  conversion  to  look  around  for 
an  instrument  of  suicide.  Dying  to  the  world  is 
not  always  dying  out  of  it.  God  may  want  him  to 
live  a while  yet. 

8.  Here  is  disclosed  the  spirit  underlying  all  true 
Christian  fidelity.  It  is  a will  bent  to  meet  God’s 
will.  We  are  to  consent  to  die  or  live.  We  only 
long  to  apprehend  that  for  which  we  have  been 
apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus. 

The  ancient  seal  inscription  offers  a very  accept- 
able figure  of  this.  An  ox  was  represented  as 
standing  between  an  altar  and  a plow.  The  hus- 
bandman, on  the  one  side,  was  presenting  the  yoke  ; 
the  priest,  on  the  other,  was  only  half-concealing 
the  knife.  There  the  patient  beast  remained  waiting 
for  the  final  signal.  And  the  legend  underneath 
was  written:  “Keadyfor  either.”  God  calls  only 
for  our  life  to  be  surrendered  to  him  ; he  will  take 
it  or  will  spare  it.  We  look  at  the  fire  and  the  fur- 
row, and  yet  make  no  choice.  The  inspired  descrip- 
tion of  a believer  is  simply  this,  a “ living  sacrifice.’ 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


69 


4.  Here  is  an  explanation  of  repeated  failures,  in 
religious  effort.  No  seed  has  fallen  into  the  ground 
and  died.  Some  of  you  are  discouraged  over  your 
classes.  The  children  are  not  converted.  They  try 
your  patience  bitterly.  You  see  no  life  springing 
up  from  the  soil  around  you.  Did  you  put  any 
life  in? 

Take  one  verse  of  truth  next  Sabbath  with  you 
into  the  school ; one  that  once  helped  you,  taught 
you,  comforted  you  ; one  of  the  texts  that  have  been 
specially  blessed  to  your  own  soul  in  days  gone  by. 
Give  that  to  your  children.  Put  your  entire  self 
into  the  use  you  make  of  it.  Put  your  intelligence 
into  it ; study  the  meaning  it  bears.  Put  your  self- 
denial  into  it ; for  once  give  over  all  listlessness  and 
repining.  Put  your  faith  in  it ; believe  God  is  going 
to  prosper  it.  Put  your  prayer  in  it ; let  your  lips 
be  yet  warm  with  the  supplication  you  have  lifted. 
Put  your  zeal  in  it ; let  the  ardor  of  your  intensest 
longing  glow  on  your  cheek,  and  fairly  flash  from 
your  eye.  Put  your  experience  in  it ; try  to  remember 
how  you  felt  when  those  dear  words  came  to  you 
from  Jesus.  Put  your  hope  in  it ; go  next  day  with 
the  expectation  you  will  be  needed  by  a soul  under 


70 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


conviction.  In  a word,  put  yonr  life  in  it;  your 
life  which  rests  in  the  G-ospel ; center  its  force  and 
fervor  in  the  one  wistful,  yearning  desire  for  that 
pupil’s  conversion.  And  Giod  will  give  it  to  you ! 
He  will  give  you  life  for  life. 

5.  Here  is  a counsel  concerning  duty  which  in 
volves  danger.  “ Hereby  perceive  we  Christ’s  love, 
because  he  laid  down  his  life  for  us ; and  v^'e  ought 
to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren.”  In  the 
early  hour  of  his  first  espousal  to  God,  the  believer 
gives  himself  entirely  away,  with  all  the  sacredness 
of  devotion  of  a bride  to  her  husband ; for  richer  or 
for  poorer,  in  bloom  or  in  wasting,  for  better  or  for 
worse,  in  life  or  in  death.  Feeble-minded  sympathy 
once  implored  the  brave-hearted  Paul  to  keep  out  of 
peril.  Ecmembcr  his  courageous  answer:  “What 
mean  yc  to  weep  and  to  break  mine  heart?  for  I am 
ready,  not  to  be  l)ound  only,  but  also  to  die  at  Jeru- 
salem, for  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  !”  How  little 
of  the  apostolic  zeal  there  is  in  oui‘  willingness  to 
undergo  risk  in  saving  souls  ! We  arc  afraid  to  wear 
out  early,  ^riiink  of  Whiteficld’s  noble  words:  “I 
am  immortal  till  my  work  is  done!”  What  is  life, 
what  is  health,  what  is  case?  Souls  are  perishing 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


71 


for  whom  Christ  died!  An  epidemic  in  a suspi- 
hous  neighborhood  drives  us  heme  in  miserable 
cowardice  and  alarm,  while  for  wealth  men  are 
tempting  the  winds  of  India  and  the  miasmas  of 
ihe  tropics  ! And  what  even  if  we  perish  ? That 
was  what  we  bargained  for  in  the  outset.  The 
recluses  of  an  old  Franciscan  convent  were  sum- 
moned to  go  forth  to  minister  to  the  sick  and 
dying,  once  when  the  plague  was  raging  in  the 
city.  They  v/ere  allotted  one  by  one  to  the  duty, 
and  went  without  hesitation  or  reserve  to  their 
solemn  task.  When  each  day  was  done,  the  man 
returned  to  an  out-house  within  the  inclosure,  and 
if  he  coulf  rang  a bell  to  show  he  was  alive.  If 
that  tolling  monitor  were  silent  at  sun-down,  then 
another  monk  was  dispatched  for  his  relief  if  possi- 
ble, at  any  rate  to  continue  the  work.  They  knew 
that  their  comrade  had  fallen.  When  the  pestilence 
was  finally  stayed,  it  was  found  that  twenty-four  un- 
shrinking men  had  paid  the  penalty  of  their  devo- 
tion. But  think  of  it,  how  many  lives  of  men  had 
these  lives  saved?  In  the  measure  of  life  for  life, 
an  uneiTing  Eye  struck  the  balance. 

6.  Here  is  a lesson  as  to  the  ease  of  all  useful 


72 


LIFE  FOR  LIFE. 


ness.  It  is  sin  only  in  this  world  which  is  difficult. 
Once  bring  a man  into  communion  with  the  Sav- 
iour, and  he  swings  as  naturally  into  doing  good  as 
a star  into  its  orbit. 

You  remember  the  motto  on  the  pedestal  of  the 
Eddystone  lighthouse — ‘‘To  give  light  and  save 
life.”  So  out  on  the  rugged  shores  of  time  each 
child  of  God  is  set.  The  waves  are  around  him, 
the  eternal  ocean  breaks  at  his  feet.  Storms  are 
wild  and  midnights  are  gloomy.  Yet,  untremulous 
and  undirnmed,  gleams  that  lantern  on  the  rock,  to 
give  light  that  shall  save  life.  There  is  nothing 
strange  or  strained  in  this.  Poor  mariners  are  drift- 
ing here  and  there  far  out  to  sea.  They  discern  the 
faithful  glimmer,  and  are  piloted  in.  Now  it  costs 
the  lantern  nothing  more  to  do  this  than  it  does  to 
live.  For  the  very  oil  it  consumes  radiates  the 
rays ; tlic  beams  the  keeper  trims  it  by  are  those 
that  save  the  sailors.  It  does  its  duty  when  it  is 
true  to  itself.  And  that  soul  which  grace  has 
lighted,  saves  life  when  it  keeps  its  life  true.  “ lie 
doth  much,”  says  old  Thomas  a Kempis,  “whoZihd/i 
wclL” 


VI 


Mainfcstin^  TnitK. 

“ By  manifestation  of  the  truth  commending  ourselnes  to  evemj  man''s 
conscience  in  the  sight  of  God^ — 2 Cor.  iv.  2. 

AUL,  the  apostle,  was  one  of  the  greatest 
preachers  that  ever  lived.  A burning  elo- 
quence, that  studied  no  rules  of  rhetoric  and  recog- 
nized no  laws  of  logic,  yet  followed  the  rules 
unconsciously  and  obeyed  the  laws  without  mis- 
take, poured  forth  from  his  lips,  until  proud  officers 
of  the  government  bowed  their  heads  in  conviction, 
while  the  common  people,  half-crazed  by  a voice  so 
supernatural  in  its  utterance,  brought  forth  garlands 
and  oxen  for  sacrifice,  exclaiming : “ The  gods  be 
come  down  to  us  in  the  likeness  of  men  !” 

In  our  text  we  have  this  famous  preacher  writing 
about  preaching.  He  is  at  once  explaining  and  ex- 
emplifying his  power  as  an  expert  in  the  profession. 
Surely  it  is  worth  our  while  to  listen  to  him. 

4 


74 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH. 


And  the  special  fitness  of  this  theme  to  Sunday- 
school  teachers  lies  in  the  admitted  fact  that  they 
are  all  lay-preachers,  with  small  fixed  congregations 
under  their  pastoral  care.  Ministers  are  only  teach- 
ers with  larger  classes. 

You  will  find  in  the  verse  chosen  for  introduction  ^ 
to  this  sermon  these  three  points,  around  which  all 
that  needs  to  be  said  can  easily  be  grouped — the 
nature  of  a teacher’s  work ; the  direction  of  his 
efibrt ; and  the  limit  of  his  responsibility. 

I.  The  nature  of  the  teacher’s  work.  He  is  to 
manifest  the  truth.  Here  are  specified  both  his 
theme  and  his  duty. 

1.  His  theme  is  “ the  truth.”  A general  form  of 
expression  this,  to  be  sure ; you  will  tinderstand  its 
meaning  better  if  we  draw  out  the  particulars  in- 
cluded, one  by  one. 

He  is  to  present  the  Bible  as  the  revelation  of 
truth.  We  arc  not  left,  as  were  some  to  whom 
Paul  preached,  to  grope  after  God,  if  haply  we  may 
find  him.  Tho  Word  has  been  put  in  our  hands. 
And  this  is  all  any  Christian  needs,  no  matter  what 
may  bo  the  exigency.  When  Christ  would  foil  tlie 
devil  in  the  hour  of  temptation,  ho  (piotcd  Heuter- 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH, 


75 


t)nomy.  When  Peter,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
would  convert  the  multitude,  he  expounded  one  of 
the  Psalms.  When  Philip  would  lead  the  eunuch 
to  the  cross,  he  read  him  a chapter  from  Isaiah. 
And  when  Apollos  was  turning  thousands  of  souls 
from  error  and  sin,  the  secret  of  his  success  was 
disclosed  in  one  fact:  he  was  “mighty  in  the  Scrip- 
tures.’’ 

He  is  to  present  the  Grospel  as  the  system  of  truth. 
In  giving  us  a New  Testament,  God  told  us  what 
use  to  make  of  the  Old.  The  history  of  the  patri- 
archs, the  songs  of  the  Psalmist,  the  enactments  of 
the  law-giver,  the  proverbs  of  the  wise  king,  the 
sublime  predictions  of  the  prophets,  are  all  of  won- 
derful interest.  They  stand  like ' the  guide-boards 
on  Hebrew  highways,  each  with  an  index-finger 
pointing  toward  a City  of  Eefuge.  The  one  thing 
above  all  others  in  the  Bible  is  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion. The  children  in  our  classes  are  under  the 
curse  of  God’s  broken  law.  The  great  primal  sin 
lies  crushingly  upon  them.  They  are  not  sweet, 
innocent  little  creatures.  What  they  want  is  the 
Gospel.  You  can  not  convert  one  of  them  witli 
the  story  of  Ahab,  or  of  the  Shunamite’s  child. 


76 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH. 


These  are  useful  to  them  only  as  leading  them  inter 
the  further  study  of  truth.  A true  teacher  will 
never  consider  his  duty  done  till  he  has  told  them 
the  story  of  the  cross. 

He  is  to  present  Jesus  Christ  as  the  emhodiment 
of  truth.  In  that  awful  hour  of  indecision,  Pilate 
put  the  question : “ What  is  truth?”  It  had  already 
been  answered  by  the  Saviour  who  stood  before 
him  : “I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life.”  The  - 
characteristic  of  our  Christian  faith  is  the  presence 
in  it  of  a personal  Eedeemer.  This  is  what  gives 
those  four  narratives  of  the  Evangelists  such  power. 
There  every  child  may  read  the  story  of  a Man, 
divine  and  human,  who  lived  and  died  for  sinners. 
He  sees  that  peerless  Life,  wandering  homelessly 
over  the  hills  of  history,  retiring  to  the  mountains, 
walking  on  the  lake,  preaching  to  the  multitudes, 
doing  good  wherever  he  moves.  lie  becomes  ac- 
quainted with  Jesus.  And  as  he  recognizes  him 
yet  more  and  more  frequently,  he  learns  to  love 
liim.  ^riiat  Life  grows  dearer  as  it  draws  nearer, 
until  it  becomes  the  one  image  he  looks  for  in  the 
Scriptures.  He  grows  like  it,  as  he  sees  it  the  more 
clearly.  And  the  true  way  to  lead  our  pupils  to  the 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH.  77 

foot  of  the  cross  is  just  this : Show  them  more  and 
iliore  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Here,  then,  is  the  teacher’s  and  the  preacher’s 
theme.  He  is  really  to  know  nothing  but  Christ 
and  him  crucified.  The  Bible  is  to  him  like 
the  inclosure  within  the  outer  curtains  around  the 
Tabernacle ; it  is  all  solemn,  precious,  and  sacred. 
The  Gospel  is  to  him  like  the  many-covered  struc- 
ture that  invested  the  altar  and  the  candlestick, 
within  the  consecrated  pale.  But  as  the  chief  glory 
of  all  these  was  found  in  the  Shechinah  on  the 
inner  mercy-seat,  whose  white  light  was  what  gave 
the  entire  edifice  its  grandeur  and  worth,  so  to  him 
the  presence  of  the  living  Jesus  in  the  Gospel  is 
what  gives  the  word  its  povrer.  • 

2.  His  duty  is  to  “manifest”  the  truth:  that  is, 
make  the  truth  manifest.  This  also  needs  to  be 
analyzed. 

He  is  to  explain  the  truth  until  his  pupils  under- 
stand  it.  Not  that  he  is  to  lift  the  vail  from  every 
mystery,  or  even  reconcile  every  doctrine  with  hu- 
man reason.  But  he  must  show  what  God  has 
really  said,  until  even  the  youngest  and  the  weakest 
can  comprehend  the  meaning  of  the  verses.  It 


78 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH. 


causes  people  wonder  sometimes  to  find  a man  like 
Simon  Peter  converted  so  expeditiously.  The  ex- 
planation is  found  in  the  fact  of  his  intelligence. 
The  ancient  Jews  taught  their  children  in  the 
Scriptures.  Each  Christian  instructor  is  bound  to 
study  himself  the  truth  he  attempts  to  impart. 

He  is  to  confirm  the  truth  until  his  pupils  helieve 
it  Here,  however,  his  office  extends  no  farther 
than  merely  to  exhibit  the  proofs  God  has  given. 
He  is  not  so  much  set  to  prop  a building  likely  to 
fall,  as  to  make  evident  the  fact  that  it  needs  no 
props,  and  is  not  going  to  fall.  “Walk  about  Zion, 
and  go  round  about  her;  tell  the  towers  thereof; 
mark  ye  well  her  bulwarks,  consider  her  palaces, 
that  ye  may  tell  it  to  the  generation  following.” 

He  is  to  apply  the  truth  until  his  pupils  feel  it. 
Here  is  the  great  duty  of  every  instructor  of  cliil- 
dren ; most  neglected,  yet  most  indispensable. 
Every  liurnan  lieart  has  its  })eculiar  ailment.  It 
needs  a specific  medicine  for  cure.  This  it  neither 
can  find  for  itself,  nor  will  it  take  what  is  offered  b}^ 
anotlier.  A j)erverse  will  rc^jeets  every  approach. 
I>)(‘spite  all  that  is  said,  a living  Gospel  is  not  a 
coinfoi’table  thing  to  teach  f>r  to  preach,  because  it 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH, 


79 


is  so  uncomfortable  a thing  to  receive.  It  is  like 
the  coal  on  Isaiah’s  lips,  borne  with  because  needful, 
but  dreaded  because  on  fire.  Yet  there  is  no  alter- 
native. Children  must  be  made  to  feel  the  truth  as 
addressed  to  their  own  necessities  for  salvation. 
God  has  not  rebuked  sin  in  this  world,  but  sins. 
He  is  offended  not  by  an  abstraction,  but  by  what 
somebody  has  done. 

Here,  then,  is  the  entire  duty  of  the  teacher.  It 
is  the  very  heart  of  the  Gospel  laid  upon  the  heart 
of  the  pupils.  He  takes  the  Bible,  turns  to  the 
Gospel,  and  finds  Christ.  He  informs  the  children’s 
minds,  convinces  their  judgments,  then  urges  his 
direct  way  to  their  consciences.  By  manifestation 
of  the  truth  he  commends  himself  to  every  child’s 
conscience  in  the  sight  of  God. 

II.  The  direction  of  the  teacher’s  effort  comes 
next  in  order.  And  it  is  well  to  observe,  just  here,  • 
the  choice  phraseology  of  the  apostle.  He^says, 

‘‘  commending  ourselves  to  every  man’s  conscience 
not  denouncing  him,  or  attacking  him  rudely,  but 
drawing  him  on  gently,  with  all  kindness.  Old 
Doctor  Miller  was  wont  to  say  to  his  students* 

“ The  first  element  of  grace  in  the  pulpit  is  civility, 


80 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH. 


And  if  this  is  true  of  men,  how  much  more  of 
children ! There  is  nothing  so  much  in  the  way  of 
any  teachers  success  as  sharpness  or  impatience. 
It  only  provokes  ill-temper,  and  hinders  the  truth. 
When  a child^s  prejudice  is  awakened,  he  is  lost 
for  the  time  being.  At  the  taking  of  Mansoul  in 
the  Holy  War,  my  lord  Prejudice  fell  and  broke 
his  leg.  “I  wish,”  says  the  quaint  Bunyan,  “my 
lord  had  broken  his  neck.” 

1.  The  faculty  aimed  at  in  all  our  manifestation 
of  truth  is  conscience.  The  direction  of  every  intel- 
ligent effort  is  toward  that.  It  is  not  entertainment 
of  the  children  for  which  we  come  together,  but  the 
salvation  of  their  souls.  And  no  hour  of  labor  is 
worth  recording  which  does  not,  in  some  form,  reach 
the  inevitable  question  of  sin  and  salvation.  This 
is  right,  and  that  is  wrong;  do  this,  and  reject  that 
— that  is  the  lesson  for  fifty-two  Sabbaths  in  every 
yean 

2.  T^he  avenues  of  approach.^  liowcvcr,  to  this 
faculty  arc  manifold.  Hence  the  inexhaustible 
variety  in  address,  ^fhose  mostly  in  use  arc  these 
three : the  imagination,  the  reason,  and  the  sensi- 
bilities. 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH. 


81 


The  imagination  loves  d,  picture.  And  when  all 
its  vigor  is  invoked,  the  skillful  teacher  will  find  it 
easy  to  turn  in  the  power  of  the  truth  he  has  illus- 
trated upon  the  conscience,  for  the  will  is  off  its 
guard. 

Nathan  wrought  David  to  a great  pitch  of  excite- 
ment with  the  mere  story  of  a poor  man’s  ewe-lamb. 
Just  in  the  moment  of  his  intensest  feeling,  around 
came  that  long  finger  pointing  at  him,  with  the 
words : “ Thou  art  the  man !”  Our  Lord  told  Simon 
of  a very  interesting  business  transaction,  and  asked 
his  opinion  about  it.  The  eager  Pharisee  answered 
with  much  enthusiasm.  And  then  in  an  instant 
he  found  he  had  been  judging  his  own  case,  and  was 
convicted  of  sin  before  his  own  conscience. 

The  reason  looks  for  argument  Just  underneath 
the  most  violent  opposition,  oftentimes,  there  is  a 
secret  misgiving  of  the  human  heart  in  favor  of  the 
truth.  The  conscience  hears  the  strokes  of  argu- 
ment on  the  gates  of  the  citadel,  and  makes  ener- 
getic response  with  signs  of  surrender. 

Paul,  before  Felix^  reasoned  of  rightousness,  tem- 
perance, and  a judgment  to  come.  He  hurried  that 
agitated  and  guilty  ruler  on,  in  a chariot  of  burning 
4^ 


82 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH. 


logic,  over  the  hounds  of  time,  and  far  into  the  vista 
of  eternity;  then  the  frightened  debauchee  could 
not  help  trembling.  His  conscience  made  him  feel. 

The  sensibilities  expect  fervency  of  appeal.  At 
the  present  day,  listlessness  is  by  far  the  greatest 
hindrance  either  teachers  or  preachers  have  to  meet. 
So  we  all  have  to  resort  to  every  expedient  to  break 
up  the  apathy.  When  once  the  affections  are 
touched,  the  conscience  is  exposed.  This  is  the 
meaning  of  all  those  outgushings  of  tenderness 
found  in  the  midst  of  the  ancient  prophecies. 

The  weeping  Jeremiah  had  a purpose  even  in  his 
tears.  Ezekiel  turned  his  own  tenderness  to  account. 
These  faithful  men  had  but  one  aim.  They  argued 
and  pleaded,  they  presented  a picture,  they  thun- 
dered a denunciation,  they  melted  into  appeal ; any- 
thing— anything  that  would  win  even  one  soul  back 
to  its  allegiance. 

HI.  The  limit  of  the  teacher’s  responsibility  is 
all  that  now  remains  to  be  noticed  in  the  text  “ By 
manifestation  of  the* truth  commending  ourselves  to 
every  man’s  conscience  in  the  sight  of  QolV^ 

God  secs  us ! I’Iu'tc  is  in  this  thought  a counsel, 
then  tlien*  is  a caution,  then  tliore  is  a comfort 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH. 


83 


1.  The  counsel  is  this : God  sees  us.  Paul  else- 
where develops  this  statement  thus:  “With  me  it 
is  a very  small  thing  that  I should  be  judged  of 
you,  or  of  man’s  judgment;  yea,  I judge  not  mine 
own  self ; for  I know  nothing  of  myself,  yet  am  I 
not  hereby  justified ; but  he  that  judgeth  me  is  the 
Lord.”  Here  is  the  standard  of  every  true  teacher’s 
fidelity.  Lifting  himself  above  all  fear  or  feeling  as 
to  human  censure  or  human  praise,  and  passing 
even  beyond  his  own  self-flatteries  and  self-distrust, 
he  labors  as  “in  the  sight  of  Grod.”  The  limit  of 
Christian  responsibility  is  not  found  in  the  estimate 
of  men. 

2.  The  caution  is  this:  God  sees  us.  He  does 
not  have  to  wait  and  hear  our  report.  Nor  does  he 
inquire  what  others  say  about  us.  He  has  personal 
cognizance  of  all  we  think  or  do.  The  petulant 
temper,  the  impatient  word,  the  vexed  reply,  the 
ignorant  exposition,  the  hasty  appeal — he  knew  it 
all  the  time.  Our  listlessness  in  the  grand  work  he 
has  intrusted  to  us  is  all  plain  in  his  sight. 

3.  The  comfort  is  this  : God  sees  us.  Think  of 
that  touching  refrain  to  one  of  our  little  hymns — 
“Even  me!”  When  we  seem  to  be  working  so 


84 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH. 


hard  for  stupid  boys  or  ungrateful  girls ; when  we 
feel  troubled  at  heart,  yet  toil  on ; when  we  fail, 
even  though  we  meant  well ; when  with  unappre- 
ciated zeal  we  plod  on  through  the  storm  or  the 
heat  to  our  distant  classes ; then,  and  always,  Grod 
sees  us ! I may  do  little  enough,  but  if  I try  hon- 
estly to  serve  him,  God  sees  me — “even  me.” 

It  is  time  to  end  this  Sermon.  Yet  the  lessons  I 
want  to  leave  in  the  minds  of  us  all  are  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  text.  I desire  by  manifesta- 
tion of  the  truth  to  commend  myself  to  every  man’s 
conscience  in  the  sight  of  God. 

1.  Now  you  see  how  solemn  is  the  ofi&ce  of  a 
Sunday-school  teacher.  It  is  simply  the  office  of  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel.  Who  is  sufficient  for  these 
things?  “Whoso  shall  offend  one  of  these  little 
ones  that  believe  in  me,  it  were  better  for  him  that 
a millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  that 
he  were  drowned  in  the  depth  of  the  sea !” 

2.  You  see  the  need  of  a teacher’s  conversion. 
How  can  he  teach  the  truth  to  whom  it  has  never 
been  manifested?  How  can  he  labor  “in  the  sight 
of  God”  to  whom  God  is  a consuming  fire?  Now 
there  is  one  thing  that  does  not  follow  from  thia^ 


MANIFESTING  TRUTH. 


85 


and  another  thing  that  does.  It  does  not  follow 
that  every  unconverted  man  should  cease  teaching. 
It  does  follow  that  every  one  who  is  teaching* 
should  become  immediately  a converted  man. 

3.  You  see  how  even  helps  may  hinder  in  the 
process  of  instructing  classes.  Illustrations  and 
arguments  and  appeals  are  all  needful  in  “manifes- 
tation of  the  truth.’’  But  if  one  is  betrayed  into 
chasing  up  a ligure,  or  insisting  on  a debate,  or  con- 
tinuing an  exhortation,  until  his  work,  becomes  the 
manifestation  of  a manifestation.,  he  is  certainly 
going  to  be  in  his  own  way. 

4.  You  see  how  popularity  sometimes  gets  in  the 
path,  and  blocks  up  usefulness.  It  is  as  easy  to 
entertain  children  as  it  is  grown  people.  When 
any  teacher  commends  himself  to  the  taste  of  story- 
loving  scholars,  it  makes  no  difference  how  many 
flock  to  his  form.  He  will  do  them  no  good.  Is 
this  teaching  them  “ in  the  sight  of  God”  ? 

5.  You  see  what  a lesson  is  here  also  for  the 
ministry  of  reconciliation  to  learn.  Alas  I alas! 
poor  human  weakness  1 


VII 

A tChi(b-(ilic  Sjpuif. 

Except  ye  he  converted^  and  become  as  little  childr&n^  ye  shall  not  mt&r 
into  the  kingdom  of  hea/cen^'' — Matthew  xviil  8. 

is  in  the  Scriptures  no  record  of  a 
y-school.  Mention  is  made  of  a 
theological  seminary.  Paul  and  Silas  found  at 
Philippi  something  very  like  a maternal  association. 
And  there  was  a union  prayer-meeting  once  held 
on  Mount  Tabor.  Some  of  our  modern  institu- 
tions, therefore,  are  not  original  in  the  churches. 
Here  in  tins  chapter  I think  we  find  the  nearest 
approach  to  an  account  of  a teacher’s  class.  The 
Saviour  gives  the  instruction,  the  twelve  disciples 
arc  tlic  learners ; but  the  lesson  they  study  is  not 
])resented  in  a book,  but  embodied  in  the  person 
of  a little  live  child. 

Wliat  if’  the  process  should  be  reversed  in  our 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


87 


Sabbath-scliools  once  in  a while,  and  the  pupils  be- 
come the  teachers  ? How  would  we  relish  being 
taught  by  one  of  the  children?  Yet  this  is  pre- 
cisely what  our  Lord  here  proposes  for  a perpetual 
exercise.  W e must  become  as  little  children ; and 
therefore  children  must  be  our  unconscious  in- 
structors as  to  what  we  are  to  attain.  Highly  priv- 
ileged, then,  are  those  who  have  their  monitors  so 
constantly  before  them. 

In  our  present  examination  of  this  passage,  let 
us  first  search  out  the  doctrine ; then  we  can  easily 
trace  its  practical  results, 

I.  The  doctrine  of  the  text  must  not  be  miscon- 
ceived. There  is  one  thing  it  does  not  teach,  and 
there  is  another  thing  it  does. 

It  does  not  teach  the  sinlessness  of  children. 
Christ  says  in  this  very  chapter  that  he  came  to 
‘‘save”  the  “little  ones”  because  they  were  “lost.” 
*No  more  certainly  was  Bartimeus  the  son  of  Timeus 
— a blind  descendant  of  a blind  father — than  are  all 
children  the  ruined  offspring  of  a ruined  race.  Tra- 
dition, not  reliable,  tells  us  that  the  little  boy,  whom 
our  Saviour  called  to  him  on  that  occasion,  was  the 
one  who  afterward  came  to  be  the  martyr  Ignatius, 


88 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT, 


tlirown  in  his  old  age  to  the  wild  beasts  at  Eome. 
That  is  the  best  which  can  be  said  of  him;  and  we 
do  not  know  that  even  so  much  is  true.  Surely  he 
was  not  offered  as  a model  child.  Our  Saviour  was 
the  only  model  child  that  ever  lived.  Our  text 
does  not  teach  infant  innocence. 

It  does  teach  the  excellence’ of  a true  child-spirit. 
It  presents  an  ideal  before  our  minds.  The  temper 
of  a proper  child  in  its  father’s  house  is  the  pattern 
we  are  to  picture.  Hot  childishness,  but  childlike- 
ness, is  the  condition  of  our  entering  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  And  so  our  question  will  arise  at  once, 
What  is  this  child-spirit  ? We  all  have  our  theo- 
ries ; but  subjecting  them  to  a careful,  yet  not  very 
extensive,  analysis,  I judge  we  should  agree  upon 
these  four  characteristics  : contentment,  obedience, 
affectionateness,  and  trust.  You  are  accustomed 
sometimes,  in  your  talks  with  your  class,  to  give 
them  the  initials  of  your  points  of  instruction,  that 
they  may  remember  it  more  easily.  Your  mnemonic 
now  is  found  in  First  Samuel  ii.  19. 

1.  Contentment.  The  apostle  Paul  says : “ I 
liave  learned,  in  whatsoever  state  I am,  therewith 
to  1)0  (jontent”  But  he  had  to  learn  it.  With 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIZ 


89 


children  this  is  innate.  It  conies  without  discipline, 
and  only  deepens  with  experience. 

A child  is  perfectly  content  with  its  privileges  in 
the  home  circle.  Ask  any  member  of  yonr  class, 
‘‘Whose  little  boy  are  yon?”  and  he  will  answer: 
“ Father’s.”  “ And  where  do  you  live?”  He  will 
tell  you : “At  home.”  Now  he  thinks  you  know 
all  about  him.  There  is  only  one  father  in  the 
world,  and  there  is  no  home  but  that  father’s  house. 
He  desires  nothing  beyond  that  for  either  rest  or 
enjoyment.  Disturb  him,  wound  him,  frighten  him, 
and  his  earliest  wish  is : “ Just  take  me  home.” 

A child  is  perfectly  content  with  its  restrictions 
under  the  home  economy.  He  expects  to  be  governed. 
Helpless,  he  just  owns  it,  and  is  not  humiliated. 
Ignorant,  he  just  admits  it,  and  is  not  ashamed. 
Weak,  he  just  acknowledges  it,  and  says:  “Help 
me,  for  I can  not  go  alone.”  There  are  others  in  the 
same  family.  He  fully  understands  he  must  give 
them  equal  rights.  He  must  adjust  his  liberties  so 
as  not  to  interfere  with  theirs.  When  he  fails,  he 
expects  to  be  prompted  and  warned.  The  life  he 
lives  is  a mere  embodiment  of  the  prayer : “ Hold 
thou  me  up,  and  I shall  be  safe.” 


90 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


A child  is  perfectly  content  with  the  sanctions 
affixed  to  the  home  law.  He  loves  approval,  he  fears 
punishment.  He  accepts  the  essential  righteousness 
of  both.  He  takes  to  the  rewards  best,  but  he 
knows  when  he  merits  the  penalties.  I asked  my 
little  girl  once  to  choose  her  own  punishment.  To 
my  unutterable  dismay,  she  chose  the  toughest 
She  passed  intuitive  judgment  on  her  offense. 

2.  Obedience  is  the  next  characteristic  of  a true 
child-spirit  And  as  here  is  likely  to  be  our  great- 
est failure,  so  here  needs  to  be  our  closest  observa- 
tion. 

A child  obeys  his  father  unconsciously.  He  is 
not  aware  he  is  doing  any  thing  remarkable.  The 
parental  will  is  law.  He  receives  its  mandates  as 
a matter  of  course.  He  makes  no  virtue  of  neces- 
sity. He  can  not  really  understand  the  Hindoo 
doctrine  of  merit  He  discusses  no  mysterious 
principles  of  family  government  His  subjection 
is  native.  When  his  father  is  at  home,  he  expects 
to  mind. 

A cliild  ol)cys  liis  father  specifically.  He  plans 
to  do  tlie  thing  lie  is  set  to  do.  Casabianca  stands 
on  the  burning  deck,  because  there  he  was  bidden 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


91  • 


to  stand.  It  needs  a man  grown  to  become  skillful 
enough  to  consider  whether  something  else  might 
not  be  substituted  in  the  place  of  a commandment. 
Children  do  not  compound  for  one  sin  “ they  are 
inclined  to,”  by  damning  another  sin  “they  have 
no  mind  to.” 

A child  obeys  his  father  unhesitatingly.  A 
teacher,  commenting  on  one  of  the  petitions  of  the 
Lord’s  Prayer,  asked  her  pupils  around  the  class : 
“ How  is  the  will  of  God  ‘ done  in  heavin’  ?”  One 
answered:  “Cheerfully.”  Another  said:  “By  all 
alike.”  A third  added:  “All  the  time.”  But  the 
youngest  little  girl  in  the  class,  with  a keen  pene- 
tration, replied:  “It  is  done  without  ashing  any 
questions.'*^ 

3.  Affectionateness  is  another  characteristic  of  the 
true  child-spirit.  Some  time  when  you  are  perus- 
ing the  thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians, 
put  in  the  place  of  the  word  “ charity,”  in  the  fourth 
verse,  the  word  “ child,”  and  see  how  it  would  read 

The  affectionateness  of  a child  is  remarkable  foi 
the  spontaneousness  of  its  exercise.  Half  of  our  labor 
in  this  conventional  world  is  wasted  in  simply 
graduating  our  favors  to  the  ranks  of  recipients; 


92 


.*1  CLIILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


watching  the  effects  they  produce;  wondering  what 
return  they  will  bring.  AV e must  propitiate  one  man  s 
dislike ; we  must  keep  down  another  man’s  pique. 
We  reckon  with  much  precision  how  much  atten- 
tion will  be  needed  to  ingratiate  ourselves  with  one 
family,  and  how  much  caution  will  have  to  be  em- 
ployed to  keep  us  from  entanglement  with  another. 
Now,  a child  never  calculates.  He  is  thoroughly 
self-forgetful  in  his  distribution  of  love.  Thus  his 
behavior  delights  by  nothing  so  much  as  its  natu- 
ralness. He  is  so  artless  in  the  surrender  of  all  his 
powers  of  entertainment,  that  he  will  tell  you  all  his 
stories  at  once,  and  sing  you  all  the  songs  he  knows, 
with  a reckless  exhaustion  of  his  capital  in  a single 
effort.  Thus  he  makes  others  happy  without  think- 
ing of  it.  He  brightens  a whole  company  without 
planning  it  beforehand,  or  remembering  it  after- 
ward. 

Idle  affectionateness  of  a child  is  remarkable  for 
the  indiscriminateness  of  its  hestowaL  It  believes  in 
the  doctrine : “ He  that  would  have  friends  must 
show  Inrnself  friendly.”  It  cherishes  no  respect  of 
jiersons.  Distinctions  of  wealth,  position,  even  of 
color  and  i*ace,  a child  docs  not  know  how  to  deal 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


93 


with.  How  suggestive  are  the  lessons  we  ought  to 
receive  from  our  own  rebukes  and  mortifications  on 
this  point ! We  try  to  teach  our  children  choice  in 
playmates ; but  the  moment  our  backs  are  turned, 
off  they  go  with  some  wretched  urchin  from  the 
next  alley.  Then  we  force  them  to  play  the  aristo- 
crat ; but  oh ! how  mean  it  sounds,  when  we  hap- 
pen to  hear  them  through  the  casement  explaining 
to  the  sad  little  girl  with  the  ragged  clothes 
how  we  have  sagely  warned  them  away  from  her. 
Neither  seems  to  understand  the  case  much. 
They  asked  the  good  Cecil’s  daughter  what  made 
every  body  love  her,  and  she  answered,  with  her 
peculiar  kind  of  logib:  “Because  I love  every 
body !” 

The  affectionateness  of  a child  is  remarkable  for 
persistency  of  its  endurance.  It  beareth  all  things, 
believeth  all  things,  endureth  all  things;  it  never 
faileth.  Breathe  in  the  ear  of  a proper  child  even 
one  word  of  suspicion,  and  mark  how  startled  and 
yet  how  stubborn  will  be  the  assertion  in  reply. 
His  fidelity  is  simply  incorruptible.  Did  you  never 
have  one  of  the  little  girls  in  your  class  become 
uneasy  before  the  time  of  dismissal?  You  told 


94 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


her  stories,  you  asked  her  questions,  then  you 
showed  her  pictures.  Meantime  she  continued  so 
silent  that  you  flattered  yourself  on  your  shrewd- 
ness in  beguiling  her  attention;  when  suddenly 
looking  you  full  in  the  face,  right  in  the  midst  of 
your  most  enthusiastic  endeavors,  she  said  as  calmly 
and  as  resolutely  as  a fate : “I  want  to  go  home  and 
see  my  mother !”  That  tone  carried  conviction; 
you  had  to  let  her  go. 

4.  Trust  is  the  remaining  characteristic  of  this 
true  child-spirit.  You  will  find  illustrations  of  this 
in  a child’s  mode  of  thinking,  method  of  reasoning, 
and  manner  of  life. 

A child  is  always  intelligent  in  its  trust.  A lady 
asked  a little  daughter  of  the  missionary  Judson  : 

Were  you  not  afraid  to  journey  so  far  over  the 
ocean?”  And  the  reply  was  : “ Why,  no,  madam  ; 
father  prayed  for  us !”  I think  Kuskin,  the  great 
English  critic,  must  have  had  a faith  like  this  in  his 
mind,  when  he  penned  those  exquisite  words  of  his : 
“ The  true  unity  of  earthly  creatures  is  their  power 
and  their  peace;  not  like  the  dead  and  cold  peace 
of  undisturbed  stones  and  solitary  mountains,  but 
the  living  peace  of  trust,  and  the  living  power  of 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


96 


support ; of  hands  that  hold  each  other ^ and  arc  still ; 
the  quietness  of  action  determined,  of  spirit  un- 
alarmed,  of  expectation  unimpatient ; more  beautiful 
than  ever,  when  the  rest  is  one  of  humility  instead 
of  pride,  and  the  trust  no  more  in  the  resolution  we 
have  taken,  but  in  the  hand  we  hold.” 

A child  is  always  logical  in  its  trust.  You  will 
mistake  seriously  if  you  imagine  children  continue 
their  confidence  blindly.  They  reason  in  mat- 
ters of  the  heart  far  more  consistently  often  than 
maturer  people  do.  The  mind  of  a child  is  more 
logical  than  the  mind  of  a man,  in  so  far  as  his  in- 
formation reaches ; for  no  swerving  influence  comes 
in  to  prevent  the  process.  A twilight  bird  goes 
right  on  sailing  into  the  shadow,  with  the  mo- 
mentum it  gains  from  flying  in  the  sunshine. 
It  passes  under  a dark  archway  .with  the  impulse  it 
takes  from  the  lit  flight  it  made  toward  it.  And 
just  so  the  faith  of  a child  presses  on  unhesitatingly 
in  the  line  of  its  convinced  reason,  and  with  all  the 
force  that  reason  has  acquired.  Do  him  a kind- 
ness, and  a boy  will  believe  you  always  a kind  man. 
Help  him  once,  and  he  will  never  hesitate  to  come 
to  you  for  help.  Learning  his  father  from  what  he 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


9fi 

knows  of  him,  he  hurries  along  with  a swift  and 
fearless  prediction,  inferring  with  the  instincts  of  a 
sure  intuition  what  he  does  not  know. 

A child  is  always  tranquil  in  its  trust.  There 
was  once  a monarch  in  Israel’s  realm,  accustomed 
to  put  his  experience  to  music,  and  sing  the  strains 
of  affection  that  were  too  exuberant  for  prayer. 
Floating  down  the  ages,  he  has  sent  us  one  Psalm, 
gentle  as  a Bethlehem  hymn  sung  at  a covenant 
cradle,  yet  manly  enough  in  its  utterance  to  become 
a “ song  of  degrees”  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem.  And 
this  is  its  burden : “Lord,  my  heart  is  not  haughty, 
nor  mine  eyes  lofty : neither  do  I exercise  myself 
in  great  matters,  or  in  things  too  high  for  me. 
Surely,  I have  behaved  and  quieted  myself  as  a 
child  that  is  weaned  of  his  mother.” 

11.  This  seems  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the  text ; let  us 
now  trace  a few  of  its  most  prominent  results.  You 
perceive  that  the  practical  force  it  has  for  us  turns 
on  the  fact  that  it  has  been  made  the  condition  of 
our  salvation.  These  characteristics  of  a true 
child-spirit  have  been  delineated  at  this  length 
not  for  any  purpose  of  mere  interesting  inqui- 
ry, but  because  each  of  them  must  be  received 


A CHILD- LIKE  SPIRIT.  97 

into  our  experimented  possession  as  a spiritual 
grace. 

1.  Consider  its  bearing  upon  our  intellectual  pro- 
cesses. Many  a man  flatters  himself  with  a sweet 
consciousness  of  magnanimity,  when  he  imagines 
that  observers  are  pointing  him  out,  and  saying : 
There  goes  one,  once  a skeptic,  who  having  deter- 
mined to  put  all  systems  to  trial,  has  just  now  been 
investigating  Christianity  : he  took  up  the  evidences 
masterfully,  he  has  given  in  his  adhesion  manfully., 
and  thus  shown  his  lofty  fealty  to  his  convictions ! 
Ah ! yes ; but  our  text  does  not  talk  of  manhood, 
but  of  childhood.  There  is  no  child-spirit  in  this 
proud  surrender  to  argument.  A man  needs  con- 
version, not  conviction  alone.  The  Bible  reverses 
human  terms  of  counsel.  We  say  to  a child.  Be  a 
man ; Christ  says  to  the  man.  Be  a child.  Hence 
he  will  “ enter  the  kingdom”  only  when  he  studies 
with  his  faith  as  well  as  his  intellect. 

2.  Consider  its  bearing  upon  our  formulas  of  belief 
A child’s  theology  is  frequently  wiser  for  human 
need  than  a man’s.  It  often  comes  to  pass  that 
when  a mature  intellect  has  been  worrying  itself 
into  most  discouraging  confusion,  it  is  startled  by 

5 


98 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


the  keen  penetration  and  almost  oracular  deliver- 
ance of  an  infant  trust.  What  is  God?  Good 
Gillespie’s  prayer  did  the  best  it  could  for  a defini- 
tion. “ God  is  a spirit;  infinite,  eternal,  unchange- 
able in  his  being,  wisdom,  power,  holiness,  justice, 
goodness,  and  truth.”  Now  you  know  what  God 
is  ! But  you  can  not  make  much  use  of  it.  Ask 
a child  what  God  is.  You  will  get  for  an  answer 
perhaps  this — it  takes  it  out  of  the  prayer  instead 
of  the  catechism:  God  is  our  Father  who  is  in 
heaven.  Now,  for  all  practical  uses,  for  all  availa- 
bleness to  deep  experience  of  need,  I soberly  affirm, 
that  little  as  this  seems  to  say,  it  says  more  than 
the  other  does.  Faith  can  not  climb  up  on  the 
north  side  of  a doctrine  in  the  shade.  I believe  in 
formulas  for  catechetical  instruction  with  all  my 
heart;  but  I think  they  ought  to  be  explained 
more  in  the  very  warmth  and  light  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. 

3.  Consider  its  bearing  upon . our  estimate  of 
liuman  greatness.  You  remember  that  the  disciples 
had  been  disputing  concerning  superiority,  when 
Jesus  gave  them  tliis  lesson.  Possibly  Peter  })lead 
for  ])recrnirierice,  and  instanced  the  gift  of  the  keys. 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT 


99 


Possibly  John  called  attention  to  bis  usual  place  at 
the  table.  Possibly  Andrew  begged  to  remind  them 
he  had  led  the  first  convert  to  Christ.  Possibly 
James  insisted  on  the  prerogatives  of  his  age.  All 
this  was  met  by  the  spectacle  of  a tranquil  little 
boy,  who  possibly  wondered  why  he  was  put  into 
show.  A child-spirit  is  keen  enough  to  find,  and 
generous  enough  to  recognize,^  good  everywhere. 
It  loves  all  that  love  its  father,  all  whom  its  father 
loves.  It  discovers  no  companionship  so  humble 
that  it  can  not  spend  a gleeful  hour  in  the  light  of 
it.  All  the  world  is  in -one  family  till  ten  years 
after  people  are  born ; on  the  play-ground,  in  the 
school-house,  from  the  nurse’s  arms,  to  that  dreadful 
hour  when  conventionalism  steps  in  and  tutors  the 
unconscious  democrats  into  lords  and  ladies.  But 
half  of  the  human  race  dies  before  the  fifth  year. 
When  the  millennium  comes,  you  will  find  only 
children  a hundred  years  old.  Please  look  at 
Zechariah  viii.  5. 

4.  Consider  its  bearing  upon  our  tests  of  grace. 
We  love  to  deal  with  subtle  evidences  of  a change 
of  heart.  Here  a plain  one  is  proffered.  Our  text 
presents  the  final  result,  the  completed  picture,  of 


100 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


conversion : it  consists  in  a child’s  temper  and  dis- 
position. Any  one  ought  to  know  whether  he  pos- 
sesses that  or  not.  He  can  find  out.  And  if  not,  he 
is  “ become  as  sounding  brass  or  a tinkling  cymbal.” 

5.  Consider  its  bearing  upon  advice  to  inquirers. 
You  ought  to  have  such  constantly  in  your  classes. 
Some  of  them  completely  invert  the  order  of  relation 
between  belief  and  duty.  Much  of  the  difficulty 
they  profess  to  find  in  the  Bible  is  irrelevant  in  the 
matter  of  obligation,  and  entirely  illogical  to  faith. 
Any  sensible  child  is  aware  that  its  father’s  relation- 
ship by  marriage,  social  connection  in  the  commu- 
nity, or  form  of  daily  occupation,  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  question  of  its  own  obedience  to  his  com- 
mands. Told  to  go  and  serve  him,  it  never  pauses 
to  inquire  whether  he  is  a citizen  by  birth  or 
naturalization,  or  what  amount  of  political  influence 
he  wields  in  the  party,  or  how  much  money  he 
owns.  Yet  this  is  just  what  human  reason  asserts 
its  right  to  do  over  and  over  again.  In  perfect  de- 
fiance of  logic,  inquirers  will  insist  upon  searching 
into  the  Trinity,  before  they  take  up  repentance; 
upon  understanding  the  incarnation,  before  they 
will  begin  faith.  They  will  worry  over  the  decrees. 


A GHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


101  • 


when  we  urge  holiness they  will  dispute  about 
foreordination,  when  we  press  the  necessity  of 
prayer.  Whereas  not  one  of  these  stands  in  the 
way  of  the  other.  There  is  only  one  condition  of 
salvation,  and  that  is  this  child-spirit.  Take  my 
yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me but  the  taking 
of  the  yoke  comes  first,  then  the  learning  of  the 
doctrine.  “ Be  not  children  in  understanding ; how- 
beit,  in  malice  be  ye  children ; but  in  understanding 
be  men.” 

6.  Consider  its  bearing  upon  our  aims  for  attain- 
ment How  far  away  are  we  as  yet  fi:om  this  child- 
spirit  ! “ There  remaineth  yet  very  much  land  to 

be  possessed.”  Do  you  ask  how  this  may  be 
reached  ? Only  one  direction  is  needful.  Look  at 
your  own  children,  in  your  class  or  in  your  home. 
Your  lesson  is  before  you.  What  you  would  have 
your  child  he  to  you^  that  he  you  yourself  to  God  I 
You  will  not  accomplish  that  alone.  You  had 
better  ask  for  help  at  once. 


Quiet,  Lord,  my  fro  ward  heart ; 

Make  me  teachable  and  mild ; 
Upright,  simple,  free  from  art ; 
Make  me  as  a weaned  child; 


102 


A CHILD-LIKE  SPIRIT. 


From  distrust  and  envy  free, 
Pleased  with,  all  that  pleaseth  thee  I 

As  a little  child  relies 

On  a care  beyond  his  own, 

Knows  he’s  neither  strong  nor  wise. 
Fears  to  stir  a step  alone ; 

Let  me  thus  with  thee  abide. 

As  my  Father,  G-uard,  and  Guide  1 


VIII. 


(Sob’*  Arrow*. 

'''•Thine  arrowe  sUcJc  fast  in  me^ — Psalm  xxxvih.  2. 

David  seems  to  liave  reference  to  cer- 
afflictive  dispensations,  under  which  he 
[me  borne  down.  His  explanation  of 
their  pertinency  and  purpose  is,  that  he  had  been 
doing  wrong,  and  God  was  rebuking  him.  And 
there  was  in  this  discipline  no  caprice  of  the  Divine 
displeasure;  it  was  the  usual  method  of  drawing 
back  a sinful  heart  to  its  allegiance.  These  troubles 
of  his  are  called  arrows ; for  they  pierced  him  like 
the  shafts  of  an  archer,  shot  at  a fugitive  soldier, 
not  to  slay  him,  but  to  bring  him  to  a stand. 

This  is  the  figure.  In  another  Psalm  the  picture 
is  presented  in  full.  In  those  days  monarch s were 
wont  to  lead  forth  their  own  armies  to  battle,  and 
were  themselves  armed  for  the  fray.  And  here  the 


EEE 

tain 


was  at  the  1 


104 


GOB'S  ARROWS. 


inspired  address  is  direct  to  the  Captain  of  our  sal- 
vation : “ Tlij  throne,  0 God,  is  forever  and  ever ! 
The  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  is  a right  sceptre.  Gird 
thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh,  O most  mighty,  with  thy 
glory  and  thy  majesty ; and  in  thy  majesty  ride 
prosperously,  because  of  truth  and  meekness  and 
righteousness ; and  thy  right  hand  shall  teach  thee 
terrible  things.  Thine  arrows  are  sharp  in  the  heart 
of  the  king’s  enemies,  whereby  the  people  fall  under 
thee.” 

The  general  meaning  we  gather  from  this  is, 
that  the  aerows  of  God  are  the  means  he  uses 
of  every  kind  to  bring  his  rebellious  subjects  to 
terms. 

Now  we  accept  the  complaint  that  many  Sunday- 
school  teachers  make : the  children  in  their  classes 
are  not  converted ; the  daily  instructions  in  the 
Bible  do  not  sink  into  their  hearts : the  truth  seems 
to  glide  over,  glance  off,  and  effects  no  permanent 
lodgment. 

Our  reply  to  it  is — you  want  more  arrows.  Then 
comes  the  question — how  can  we  get  them?  And 
this  sermon  is  intended  to  give  that  question  an 


answer. 


GOD^S  ARROWS. 


105 


I.  You  may  look  for  arrows  always  in  the  field 
of  Divine  Pkovidence. 

The  ancients  used  to  say  that,  having  fashioned 
the  universe,  the  great  Architect  sent  it  adrift  on 
the  sea  of  his  eternal  purpose,  thinking  no  more  of 
its  cargo  or  its  course — as  a shipwright  finishes  a 
vessel,  and,  after  the  perilous  launch  is  over,  never 
is  at  pains  to  watch  for  its  voyages.  But  the  Chris- 
tian idea  rebukes  and  corrects  the  heathen.  God  is 
the  pilot  as  Vv^ell  as  the  constructor.  He  holds 
every  second  cause  and  every  instrument  in  positive 
subordination  to  his  intelligent  will.  And  in  the 
sphere  of  his  religious  influences,  especially,  where 
now  it  most  concerns  uis  to  follow  him,  as  if  to 
insist  upon  his  own  sovereignty,  and  keep  every 
human  mind  from  presumptuous  interference,  it 
seems  to  have  been  his  intention  that  many  of  the 
most  bright  and  shining  lights  in  the  militant  church 
should  be  brought  into  the  kingdom  in  a strange 
way.  Some  special  providence  arrested  them  sud- 
denly. 

An  infidel  was  sailing  upon  a river.  A storm 
arose,  a water-spout^dashed  over  the  boat,  the  man 
was  drifted  out  to  sea,  clinging  to  the  oars.  Finally 


106 


GOD^S  ARROWS. 


lie  was  picked  up  by  a vessel,  itself  swept  from  its 
^moorings,  with  broken  cable,  and  in  danger  of 
wreck.  Thus  was  Vanderkemp  converted. 

A minister  made  an  open-air  appointment  for  a 
preaching  service.  Some  young  men  and  boys 
undertook  to  disturb  the  meeting.  One  of  them, 
the  most  nimble  and  dextrous,  broke  his  ankle  in 
trying  to  kick  a foot-ball  in  the  good  man’s  face. 
That  laid  him  on  his  bed,  and  brought  the  preacher 
to  see  him.  Thus  Morgan  Howell  was  converted. 

President  Edwards  turned  from  church  one  Lord’s 
day,  intending  to  spend  the  time  in  sleep  and  seclu- 
sion. He  took  from  the  library  at  random  an  old 
book  without  any  name  on  the  back.  It  proved  to 
be  a Bible,  and  he  opened  it  to  find,  in  1 Timothy 
i.  17,  the  instrument  of  his  conviction. 

Now  God  ordered  all  these  events,  as  plainly  as 
lie  ordered  the  sleepless  night  of  Ahasuerus,  or  the 
coming  of  Aaron  from  Egypt  to  meet  Moses.  He 
used  them  for  their  specific  end,  precisely  as  he  did 
the  erueifixiem  wonders  for  the  Italian  centurion, 
the  opening  of  tlie  Philijipian  prison  for  the  jailer, 
or  the  journey  to  Damascus  lor  Saul.  And  now, 
the  loss  of  jirojierty,  the  death  of  friemds,  the 


GOD^S  ARROWS. 


107 


thwarting  of  all  ambition ; sickness,  defamation,  or 
want — all  these  are  Giod’s  arrows. 

Any  incident  in  a child’s  life  may  be  used  to  point 
a counsel,  to  fasten  a truth,  to  impress  a lesson. 

II.  You  may  look  for  arrows  in  the  exercise  of 
Christian  Ingenuity. 

The  power  exerted  in  the  true  conversion  of  any 
soul  is  that  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  instrument 
is  the  truth.  W e have  only  to  bring  the  truth  close 
to  a soul,  and  then  rely  on  the  Holy  Spirit.  But 
there  is  in  this  process  a wide  margin  left  for  human 
tact.  Three  forms  of  effort  may  be  mentioned  at 
this  point,  any  one  of  which  you  can  employ  with 
the  members  of  your  classes  : personal  conversation, 
religious  literature,  and  the  power  of  a holy  life. 

1.  Personal  conversation  is  the  manliest  way  of 
doing  good.  Gentleness  is  the  very  essence  of 
piety ; tenderness  always  goes  hand  in  hand  with 
tact.  You  will  be  interested  in  the  record  made 
of  the  lamented  Hewitson.  “His  ministry,”  says 
his  biographer,  “was  eminently  an  earnest  one;  it 
was  not  the  earnestness  of  the  flesh — not  vehemence, 
nor  noise,  nor  physical  fervor— but  the  deep,  calm, 
solemn  earnestness  of  the  spirit ; there  was  no  scold- 


108 


GOD^S  ARROWS. 


ing,  no  impatience,  no  angry  upbraiding ; but  the 
tenderest  pity  ; be  besought  and  warned  with  tears ; 
this  was  his  unanswerable  argument.'’ 

Now  see  how  beautifully  he  wrought  this  disposi- 
tion out  into  his  conversations.  One  time  he  was 
passing  along  through  the  village,  and  saw  a young 
woman  standing  at  the  door  with  her  child  in  her 
arms.  He  stopped  to  speak  with  her.  In  his  usual 
grave  but  gentle  manner,  he  remarked : “ How  safe 
that  babe  feels  when  you  hold  it  so  ! The  believer 
is  just  as  safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus.”  At  another 
time  he  met  a member  of  his  congregation  whom 
he  had  not  yet  visited.  In  response  to  his  kind 
inquiry,  she  told  him  she  lived  in  such  a place,  in 
the  room  up-stairs.”  Then  he  continued:  “Ah! 
well ; I hope  you  invite  the  Lord  elesus  with  you  ; 
he  used  to  live  in  an  upper  room  sometimes  at  Jeru- 
salem, and  loved  to  meet  disciples  there.” 

'^rhere  is  no  end  to  the  illustration  we  could  offer 
you  here.  A wife  told  her  husband  she  “ trembled 
for”  liirn ; the  expi’ession  fell  deej^ly  into  his  heart. 
A merchant  mentioned  to  his  })artner  that  he  had 
set  ujj  a family  altar  that  morning;  God  blessed 
that  mere  word  to  his  good.  Lady  Huntington 


GOD^S  ARROWS. 


109 


pressed  on  one  of  her  servants  the  consideration  of 
eternal  things ; he  appeared  to  pay  no  attention, 
and  she  saw  no  reward ; but  the  gardener  heard  the 
conversation  through  a hole  in  the  wall,  and  became 
a man  of  prayer.  Payson  asked  some  young  men 
to  let  him  read  them  a hymn ; and  his  voice  left 
them  in  penitent  tears.  Forty  years  ago,  two  trav- 
elers stopped  their  horses  at  a brook  for  water ; as 
they  looked  in  each  other’s  faces,  one  spoke  to  the 
other  concerning  the  welfare  of  his  soul.  They 
parted  strangers,  as  they  met ; but  the  words  of  love 
found  a lodgment  in  the  heart  on  which  they  fell. 
So  Champion  became  a Christian,  a minister,  and  a' 
missionary.  He  never  knerw  his  benefactor,  till  in  a 
volume  sent  him  in  Africa  from  this  country  be 
saw  and  recognized  James  Bayard  Taylor.  Oh! 
what  a meeting  those  two  had,  when  next  they 
stood  face  to  face  (as  you  and  I sing),  “ Beyond,  be- 
yond the  river” ! 

2.  Religious  literatare.,  likewise,  may  be  used  in 
doing  good.  It  is  not  always  easy  for  one  to  over- 
come a constitutional  reluctance  in  regard  to  speak- 
ing on  religious  subjects.  Nor  does  every  one 
always  know  what  to  say.  A relief  is  found  here. 


110 


GOUS  ARROWS. 


in  both  branches  of  the  embarrassment,  in  the  use  of 
tracts,  treatises,  slips  cut  from  periodicals,  cards 
with  texts  or  hymns  printed  on  them,  or  volumes 
of  larger  size  loaned  for  perusal.  The  power  of  a 
Christian  press  can  not  be  overrated  in  this  reading 
age.  And  God  has  wonderfully  increased  our  fa- 
cilities in  these  past  years  of  the  Church’s  history. 

A man  on  the  ferry-boat  tore  a tract  in  pieces,  in 
sheer  spite  at  the  pious  zeal  that  presented  it  to 
him.  But  one  fragment  clung' to  his  glove ; and  on 
it  was  the  awful  word — Eternity  ; that  word  which 
our  English  Bibles  utter  but  once,  saving  it  in  sol- 
emn grandeur  to  describe  what  “ the  High  and 
Holy  One  inhabiteth that  arrow  of  God  pierced 
his  conscience  and  brought  him  to  the  foot  of  the 
cross. 

The  mother  of  Colonel  Gardiner  put  a devotional 
book  in  his  box  when  he  went  from  home;  that 
saved  liis  soul.  The  father  of  the  dissolute  Baxter 
gave  him  a traet,  which  was  the  instrument  in  his 
eoiiversioii.  d’hen  Ihixter  wrote  the ‘‘Call  to  the 
Unconvei’ted tliis  Doddridge  read  and  was  con- 
vict(Ml  of  sin.  ’J’hen  • Doddridge  wrote  the  “Jiise 
and  Jh-ogress  of  Kthigion  in  the  Soul;“  this  was 


GOD^S  ARROWS. 


Ill 


what  gave  Wilberforce  his  earliest  impressions. 
Then  Wilberforce  wrote  the  “Practical  View  of 
Christianity that  was  made  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  effectual  to  Legh  Eichmond’s  conversion. 
Then  Legh  Eichmond  wrote  the  “ Dairyman’s 
Daughter,”  the  noblest  tract  in  the  world,  now 
printed  in  a hundred  tongues  ! 

3.  A holy  life.,  however,  is  the  most  effectual 
power  for  doing  good.  In  this  case  the  man  him- 
self seems  in  a Scripture  sense  to  become  an  arrow. 
“ He  hath  made  my  mouth  like  a sharp  sword ; in 
the  shadow  of  his  hand  hath  he  hid  me,  and  made 
me  a polished  shaft;  in  his  quiver  hath  he  hid 
me.” 

A reviler  went  to  hear  Whitefield  preach,  and 
came  away  penitent.  “I  meant  to  break  your 
head,”  said  he,  “but  by  the  grace  of  God  you  have 
broken  my  heart.”  A poor  invalid  came  home  to 
an  ungodly  father’s  house  to  die;  her  meek  sub- 
mission, her  patient  endurance,  her  joyous  hope, 
subdued  his  rebellion ; and  she  expired  expecting 
to  see  him  again.  A modest  tradesman  upheld  his 
family  devotion,  though  it  tried  all  the  fibers  of  his 
courage ; a clerk  who  lodged  with  him  was  won  by 


112 


GOD'S  AEEOWS. 


the  spectacle  to  begin  a better  life.  A wife,  on  the 
way  home  from  church,  ridiculed  the  awkwardness 
of  the  preacher  ; looking  up  in  her  husband  s face, 
she  discovered  his  eyes  filling  with  tears  : his  emo- 
tion melted  her  heart.  A peeress  of  England  had  a 
little  class  of  ignorant  women,  whom  she  was  wont 
to  teach  in  the  Scriptures ; a blacksmith  in  the 
neighborhood,  a notorious  villain,  swore  he  would 
break  up  the  school,  and  so  one  day  violently 
forced  his  way  in.  She  went  faithfully  forward 
in  her  work,  and  Grod  touched  his  hidden  sensi- 
bilities with  the  purity  of  her  purpose  and  the 
indefatigableness  of  her  zeal,  and  he  became  her 
efficient  ally.  An  infidel  came  to  a pastor  to  con- 
verse anxiously  concerning  his  soul ; “I  could 
always  bear  sermons,”  said  he ; “I  was  ball-proof 
to  argument,  but  I could  never  endure  the  Chris- 
tian life  of  my  wife.” 

Now,  all  this  may  seem  very  common-place  to 
you ; yet  you  may  rest  assured  that  this  is  the  best 
means  of  usefulness  you  can  have  with  your  classes. 
Eflbi'ts  at  influencing  souls,  in  any  other  direction 
than  this,  are  like  arrows  shot  from  tlie  long-bow; 
tlicir  force  and  their  reach  will  depend  upon  the 


GOD^S  ARROWS. 


113 


strength  of  the  sinew  that  strains  the  string.  But 
truth  from  a holy  life  is  like  an  arrow  from  the 
cross-bow ; it  will  penetrate  with  equal  power,  who- 
' ever  sends  it  flying. 

Now  we  reach  the  application— where  the  ser- 
mon really  begins. 

1.  You  see  that  God  actually  desires  the  conver- 
sion of  souls.  The  air  is  full  of  arrows.  The  silent 
heavens,  anA  the  mute  earth,  the  storm  and  the 
sunshine,  every  agency  in  the  universe  has  been 
impressed  into  service  to  bring  souls  to  the  cross. 
The  kingdom  of  providence  is  subordinate  to  the 
kingdom  of  grace. 

2.  You  see  how  wide  is  the  field  of  Christian 
usefulness.  Among  all  these  quivers  of  arrows  it 
does  seem  as  if  every  soldier  might  find  some  shafts 
which  would  just  fit  his  bow,  and  would  certainly 
stick  in  the  mark. 

3.  You  see  how  unfortunate  an  inactive  teacher 
is.  He  has  no  arrows.,  and  his  bow  is  unstrung. 
Oliver  Cromwell  found  twelve  silver  statues  in 
Yorkminster  cathedral ; suddenly  he  asked,  “Who 

#are  those  expensive  fellows' up  there?'’  They  told 
him  they  were  the  disciples  of  Christ.  “ Ah  ! let 


114 


GOD^S  ARROWS. 


them  be  taken  down  and  melted  np,”  said  the  old 
Puritan,  “ then  they,  like  Christ,  will  go  about  doing 
good !” 

4.  You  see  the  need  of  constant  study  of  the 
entire  Bible.  That  is  what  all  the  good  arrows 
come  from.  When  the  gifted  authoress  of  ‘‘English 
Hearts  and  Hands  ” saw  that  strange  man  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  about  to  commit  suicide,  she 
saved  his  life  and  his  soul  by  reading ^'ently  within 
his  hearing  Psalm  xlvi.  4.  How  did  she  happen 
to  think  of  it  ? When  the  father  of  little  Agnes, 
out  in  the  winter  burial-ground,  saw  the  great,  soft 
snow-flakes  falling  on  her  grave,  how  did  he  happen 
to  think  of  Psalm  xci.  4?  We  must  be  familiar 
with  all  God  has  said. 

5.  You  see  the  encouragement  there  is  for  many 
who  are  unlearned.  They  can  be,  like  Apollos, 
“mighty  in  the  Scriptures,”  and  God  will  follow 
liis  own  truth  with  force.  “Not  by  might,  nor  by 
power,  but  by  iriy  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.” 

“ Tho  j^entlo  heart  tliat  thinks  with  pain 
It  searco  can  lowliest  tasks  fullill; 

And  if  it  dared  its  life  to  scan, 

Would  ask  for  pathway  low  and  still; 


GOD''S  ARROWS. 


115 


Often  such  gentle  heart  is  brought 
To  act  with  power  beyond  its  thought ; 

For  God,  through  ways  they  have  not  known, 

Will  lead  his  own !” 

6.  You  see  what  it  means,  and  what  to  do,  if  you 
are  ever  hit  by  one  of  these  arrows  of  God.  Job 
was.  David  was.  Paul  was.  It  means  that  God 
desires  you  to  come  nearer  to  him,  and  then  he  will 
extract  it. 

7.  You  see  how  terrible  a future  they  must  have 
who  dare  the  arrows  of  God.  They  tell  us  that  a 
wounded  stag  plunges  into  the  deepest  thickets,  but 
still  the  shaft  of  the  hunter  clings  by  its  barb  ; he 
seeks  rest,  but  the  point  rankles;  he  lies  by  the 
fountain,  but  finds  no  peace.  Oh ! the  picture  of  a 
transfixed  soul,  suffering  and  restless,  wandering 
around  in  the  world  of  the  lost,  without  even  the 
blessed  privilege  of  being  permitted  to  die  ! 


IX. 

Mome  Meatlben. 

“JFbr  ye  Tia/oe  the  poor  with  you  always;  and  wheffisoem&r  ye  will^  ye  may 
do  them  good''' — Mark  xiv.  7. 

tendency  of  our  times  is  toward  con- 
ization. The  means  of  rapid  transpor- 
tation, and  the  facilities  for  quick  communication, 
on  the  water  and  on  the  land,  have  drawn  away 
business  activities  from  many  of  the  old  channels, 
and  more  or  less  gathered  them  around  certain  great 
marts.  Our  population  is  setting,  toward  the  large 
cities  and  towns.  Laborers  from  foreign  lands,  and 
rustic  mechanics  and  tradesmen  from  our  own,  are 
caught  by  the  romantic  pictures  of  profit  and  plenty, 
and  are  hurrying  into  the  crowded  houses  and  the 
noisy  streets  of  the  nearest  metropolis. 

And,  on  tlie  other  liand,  with  the  easy  interchange, 
the  families  from  the  town  iind  their  summer  transit 


HOME  HEATHEK 


117 


quickly  made  into  the  villages  and  hamlets ; and 
the  customs  they  bring  with  them  are  urging  their 
way  into  the  yielding  habits  of  the  more  unsophis- 
ticated neighborhoods,  molding  the  growing  genera- 
tions to  quite  other  impulses  and  tastes,  ambitions 
and  moralities,  than  those  their  fathers  taught  them 
to  cherish.  The  country,  in  return  for  its  best  thrift 
and  energy,  which  it  generously  pours  into  the  city, 
receives  constantly  new  themes  of  thought,  new 
schemes  of  enterprise,  and  new  theories  of  life,  some 
of  which,  to  say  the  least,  are  of  questionable  value. 

This  growing  centripetal  force  in  our  land  we  are 
all  able  to  mark.  Some  deplore  it.  All  admit  it. 
And  now  that  the  reciprocity  of  interest  and  influ- 
ence between  the  rural  and  the  metropolitan  districts 
is  recognized — now  that  the  mutual  pressures  and 
impressions  are  beginning  to  be  felt,  each  in  turn 
sobers  under  the  thought  that  it  has  inevitably  to 
deal  for  itself  with  the  mightiest  question  of  the 
age : How  shall  our  centers  of  powers  be  rendered 
as  Christian  as  they  are  attractive,  as  harmless  as 
they  are  potent  ? 

I.  It  may  as  well  be  avowed  here  as  anywhere, 
for  we  shall  come  to  it,  that  this  is  not,  as  an  object 


118 


HOME  HEATHEN. 


of  appeal,  a popular  theme.  Choose  any  city,  and 
you  will  find  that  the  mission  Sunday-schools  are 
sustained  by  only  a meager  moiety  of  the  evangelical 
churches.  Do  you  ask  why  this  is  so  ? There  are 
two  reasons  for  it,  at  least. 

1.  One  of  them  is  the  nearness  of  the  objects  of  bene- 
volence, Distance  lends  enchantment  to  foreign  mis- 
sions. Patriotism  makes  some  allowance  for  even 
the  closeness  of  Western  churches  and  colleges  in 
our  own  land.  But  the  poor  are  here  under  our 
very  eye.  Descriptions  of  degradation  and  suffering 
are  spiritless,  because  we  meet  the  destitute  con- 
stantly and  contiguously.  We  fairly  touch  them 
as  we  pass.  Business  men  ought  to  know  this,  and 
yet  it  rather  injures  the  cause  to  tell  them  of  .it.  Eyes 
look  out  upon  them  as  they  hurry  down  town,  or 
pour  over  the  North  river  and  East  river,  from 
windows  behind  which  there  is  what  no  pen  can 
describe.  Immortal  souls  jostle  them  on  the  pave- 
ment, crowd  them  on  the  street  cars,  throng  them 
at  the  ferries,  and  stare  at  them  from  all  the  comers ; 
a great  mass  of  livirig,  sentient  humanity,  each  indi- 
vidual with  his  own  circle  surrounding,  purpose 
urging,  and  destiny  coming. 


HOME  HEATHEN. 


119 


Here  they  are ; and  the  question  is,  how  shall  we 
help  them?  They  are  within  reach,  and  even  now 
accessible  to  any  effort,  the  vicious  and  the  depraved 
close  by  the  intelligent  and  the  moral,  the  ignorant 
almost  housed  with  the  educated,  the  foreign  with 
the  home-born.  And  they  are  increasing  with 
rapidity  unparalleled  all  the  time.  But  every  pastor 
will  bear  me  witness  how  difficult  it  is  to  move 
Christian  people  toward  them. 

The  dramatic  power  of  poverty  and  vice  in  a 
picture  is  lost  in  a fact.  I have  seen  men  stand 
suffused  and  weeping  before  the  painting  of  a Beg- 
gar Boy,  who  passed  a hundred  boys  begging,  on 
their  way  to  the  exhibition,  and  never  thought  of 
tears.  Now  a hook  through  a man’s  back,  as  he 
whirls  on  a lofty  post  in  Hindostan,  has  a weird 
horror  in  it  that  makes  even  the  purse-strings 
shudder.  But  when  a man,  with  the  iron  in  his 
soul,  his  heart  wrung  for  his  children  that  starve  or 
that  swear,  that  are  naked  or  are  thieves,  presents 
himself,  want  becomes  tame  and  common-place.  It 
loses  romance  when  we  find  he  lives  down  by  the 
Ferries,  over  by  the  Navy  Yard,  or  across  by  the 
Dry  Dock. 


120 


HOME  HE  A TREK  . 


2.  Another  reason  for  the  nnpopnlarity  of  this 
cause  is  found  in  the  inveterate  repugnance  of  the 
human  heart  to  admit  the  poor  and  wretched  to  hrother- 
hood  under  any  system  of  things.  Many  of  our  no- 
blest Christians  find  themselves  turning  away  to 
work  more  agreeable  than  that  among  the  destitute 
and  the  vicious ; and  indeed  it  does  seem  unwel- 
come. These  people  do  grow  presuming,  some- 
times, when  you  are  kind  to  them.  They  have  so 
little  sympathy  that  they  hardly  know  how  to  treat 
it,  and  there  is  much  that  shocks  one’s  sensibilities 
in  the  beginning  of  the  efibrt.  I can  go  from  where 
I now  sit  in  my  study  writing,  and  in  half  an  hour 
can  lead  you  into  liouses  where  neither  the  air  nor 
the  sunshine  of  heaven  ever  comes.  Scores  of  fami- 
lies are  under  almost  the  same  roof,  not  one  of 
which  ever  hears  a prayer.  No  Bible  is  there,  no 
Sabbath  there,  no  Christian  instruction  there.  The 
whole  duty  of  the  day  is  done  happily,  when  poor 
squalid  existence  has  been  prolonged,  by  protracted 
ingenuities  of  labor  and  crime,  through  its  hungry 
hours.  Vice  is  fostered,  sin  is  strengthened  in  its 
j)owcr  over  every  new  generation  that  grows  up  in 
the  infamy. 


HOME  HEATHEN. 


121 


What  a school  is  this  for  a child  ! Two  of  our 
mission  school  children  sat  out  on  the  dark,  ricketty 
stairs,  the  other  night,  till  two  o’clock,  waiting  for 
their  drunken  father  to  go  to  bed,  so  that  they  might 
creep  securely  into  their  corner,  from  which  he  had 
driven  them  with  missiles.  Think  of  that  little 
ten-year  old  boy  and  seven-year  old  girl,  in  the  gang- 
way six  hours  in  a January  night,  here  in  the  City 
of  Churches  ! Human  beings  live  and  die  in  filth, 
drunkenness,  ignorance,  and  misery,  untold  and 
indescribable.  And  I live,  and  so  do  you,  within 
ear-shot  of  their  wailing,  and  never  know  who  it  is 
that  cries  I 

I ask  again,  what  are  we  going  to  do  with  these 
home  heathen  ? They  are  ready  to  meet  the  minis- 
trations of  the  Gospel.  They  will  take  anything 
you  will  give  them  kindly,  from  the  loaves  and 
fishes  of  a little  up  to  the  sermon  of  a disciple. 
It  may  seem  to  you  hopeless  to  labor  for  them,  but 
you  have  no  right  to  despair  of  the  truth. 

I have  knelt  to  pray  by  a bedside,  when  the  awful 
reek  of  the  floor  fairly  disturbed  me  at  devotion. 
I have  ministered  at  the  burial  of  the  dead  when 
men  sat  in  the  same  room,  with  covered  heads,  curi- 

6 


122 


HOME  HEATHEN. 


ously  wondering  what  I was  trying  to  do.  I have 
read  and  prayed  and  exhorted  at  the  funeral  of  a 
child,  and  then  taken  the  cofl&n  in  my  own  hands 
and  borne  it  from  the  room.  I have  said  my  hur- 
ried words  of  instruction  to  one  who  was  dying, 
amid  the  vilest  clatter  from  the  streets,  and  the 
rankest  odors  from  the  alleys ; and  spoken  of  Jesus 
and  the  cross  to  those  who,  I had  every  reason  to 
believe,  never  had  heard  his  name  except  in  an 
oath.  And  then  I have  fallen  back,  single-handed, 
on  my  faith,  and  implored  a good,  merciful  Father, 
who  made  these  creatures,  that  he  would  interpose, 
even  in.  the  depth  of  their  ignorance  and  hardness, 
for  the  salvation  of  a soul  that  I knew  was  just 
crossing  the  dark  river  alone.  And  yet  I am  not  a 
city  missionary,  only  a pastor,  and  my  experience 
is  not  very  strange  nor  unusual. 

What  will  you  do  for  these  p^ple?  Oh,  for  the 
sake  of  your  brother’s  soul,  and  for  the  sake  of  a 
great  common  humanity,  answer  this  question  for 
me ! Look  at  these  men,  women,  and  children,  one 
by  one.  Take  every  soul  up,  as  you  would  take 
jewels  up,  if  you  were  erown-making.  Christ  is 
(;rown-rnaking ; are  not  you?  Look  at  its  flaws. 


HOME  HEATHEN. 


123 


not  to  censure  or  reject,  but  to  help  and  restore. 
No  man  is  lost  utterly,  no  matter  how  burned,  or 
how  bronzed,  or  how  blackened;  no  man  can  be 
lost,  while  there  is  but  one  fair  line  across  his  fore- 
head on  which  the  name  of  Jesus  can  be  written ! 
Gather  him  up  in  your  arms  like  a bruised  child. 
Say  in  your  heart,  “ O my  God ! I might  be  here, 
but  for  thy  grace  !” 

Ah  me ! men  and  brethren,  I call  to  mind  those 
finest  words  of  great  commendation,  which  Bliphaz 
gave  to  the  suffering  Job ; I want  to  hear  such,  if 
by  and  by  I must  suffer : “ Behold  thou  hast  in- 
structed many,  and  thou  hast  strengthened  the  weak 
hands;  thy  ^ords  have  upholden  him  that  was 
falling,  and  thou  hast  strengthened  the  feeble  knees.” 

Here  are  the  poor  and  the  vicious,  the  homeless 
and  the  hunted  children  of  misfortune.  God  is 
asking  us  the  world  over,  What  shall  the  strong  do 
for  the  vreak  ? The  earth  rocks.  Institutions  are 
breaking.  Life  seems  a breath.  Fortunes  fail. 
Over  all  sits  God  calmly,  saying,  “ Be  watchful,  and 
strengthen  the  things  that  remain !” 

11.  The  question  of  doing  good  among  all  the 
miscellaneous  masses  of  every  great  community,  is 


124 


HOME  HEATHEN. 


emban'assed  with  three  complications.  And  so 
every  scheme  has  to  move  loosely,  and  have  room 
to  yield  and  distend  almost  at  pleasure.  What 
seems  exceedingly  plain  work  requires  all  the 
genius  of  a master  to  compass  even  the  least  suc- 
cess in  doing. 

1.  One  of  these  is  'poverty : mere  want  of  food, 
want  of  fire,  want  of  garments,  want  of  everything 
that  helps  to  make  humanity  human.  It  does  very 
little  good  to  pray  with  a man,  or  read  to  him  about 
Bartimeus,  or  tell  him  the  story  of  Bethany  or 
Bethlehem,  while  he  is  gaunt  with  famine,  or  des- 
perate under  the  cries  of  his  barefooted  children. 
I know  a family  that,  last  evening  v^hen  it  began 
to  rain,  had  no  coal  to  burn,  nor  food  to  eat,  and 
did  not  know  a living  source  of  help.  If  you  have 
nothing  but  tracts,  my  impression  is  that  you  need 
not  go  there  to-day.  You  will  have  to  do  some- 
thing very  like  giving  money,  or  work,  long  before 
that  man  or  any  of  his  family  will  be  ready  for 
baptism. 

Now  I know  this  is  common-place.  I suppose 
some  will  hardly  listen  to  me  as  I talk  of  dollars 
and  cents  in  this  connection.  I cannot  reason  coolly 


HOME  HEATHER 


125 


with  a Christian  who  rails  out  against  the  eternal  call 
for  practical  help.  Let  him  go  and  reason  with  the 
men  themselves.  Come,  I will  invite  you.  I had 
a man  here  in  my  study  the  other  day.  He  had 
been  sick  a month.  He  was  a furrier  by  trade. 
He  had  four  children  living.  I buried  one  for  him 
once  ; that  is  the  way  he  came  to  know  me.  He 
could  live  in  ordinary  times.  His  sickness,  how- 
ever, had  thrown  him  in  arrears.  He  was  not  able 
to  rise  or  stand.  He  halted  twice  on  the  stair- way. 
I heard  him,  and  opened  the  door.  He  came  in  to 
tell  me  his  trouble.  His  furniture  was  on  the  side- 
walk. He  could  not  remove  it  from  there,  without 
paying  his  rent — four  dollars.  He  had  found 
another  house,  but  he  could  not  go  in  without  pay- 
ing in  advance  two  dollars.  And  he  could  not 
move  his  little  store  of  goods  without  paying  a 
drayman  one  dollar  more.  He  was  a Eoman 
Catholic. 

Ah,  now,  what  a chance  for  conversion  ! He  had 
come  unsolicited  to  my  study,  and  I had  him  fairly. 
Now,  if  you  had  been  within  reach,  how  I would 
have  invited  you  to  reason  with  him ! For,  you 
see,  I had  “ Kirwan’s Letters”  close  by;  somebody 


126 


HOME  HEATHEN, 


once  gave  me  a “ Key  to  Heaven Cummings  has 
a fine  chapter  on  Antichrist,  I remember ; what  an 
argument  we  might  have  had  with  him  ! Oh,  it  is 
too  serious  to  be  sarcastic  about ! Christian  brother, 
you  know  better  than  this.  The  first  thing  to  do 
for  that  poor  fellow  was  to  lend  him  seven  dollars. 
Lend  him?  Yes,  better  than  give,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, for  it  saves  his  self-respect.  If  he  can, 
he  will  return  it — and  you  can  lend  it  to  the  next 
man ; if  not,  it  is  only  giving,  you  see,  after  all — 
and  he  hopes  to  be  able  yet. 

2.  Another  complication  is  found  in  the  fact  that 
very  many  who  are  to  he  reckoned  in  these  mixed  mul- 
titudes are  not  vicious.  In  one  day’s  visit,  you  will 
find,  quite  likely,  a goodly  number  of  old-country 
people,  and  many  of  them  are  members  of  Christian 
churches  abroad;  yet  in  this  land,  finding  no  spir- 
itual home  at  first,  they  have  fallen  away  into  neg- 
lect of  all  ordinances  and  institutions  of  the  Gospel. 
Business  life  and  laborious  toil  hurry  them  through 
the  week,  amid  the  vast  throngs  and  vigorous  com- 
petitions of  this  crowded  metropolis,  and  on  the 
Sabbatli  they  clamor  lor  rest  and  recreation.  1^'am- 
ilies,  even  from  Puritan  New  Lngland,  are  found 


HOME  HEATHEN, 


127 


likewise,  who,  reared  in  the  circles  of  strictest  and 
most  virtuous  associations,  come  here  into  closest 
seclusion.  They  discover  that  the  social  lines  are 
drawn  tensely;  the  rates  of  pew-rent  are,  in  all 
acceptable  congregations,  exceedingly  high;  and, 
compared  with  all  their  previous  village  conge- 
niality and  neighborliness,  the  general  welcome  is 
cold  and  uninviting  to  any  further  intimacy.  For 
awhile  they  make  a compromise ; but  little  by  little 
they  glide  away  from  their  former  habits  and  con- 
victions, become  worldly  like  all  the  rest,  and  at 
last  they  are  lost  in  the  obscurity  of  the  throng — 
lost  to  usefulness,  if  not  to  faith. 

Bear  in  mind  these  persons  may  be  poor  or  may 
not  Quite  likely  they  are.  At  any  rate,  they  live 
among  the  poor.  They  find  their  homes  on  less 
fashionable  streets.  They  go  to  the  common  amuse- 
ments ; they  put  the  music  of  the  Central  Park  in 
the  place  of  the  Philharmonic  Concerts ; they  seek 
the  cemeteries  instead  of  the  sanctuary  on  the  Lord’s 
Day.  They  mark  the  hurrying  thousands  of  all 
classes  in  the  community,  and  yet  feel  that  they 
must  fight  their  own  battles.  So  they  grow  on 
fighting. 


128 


UOME  HEATHEN. 


You  imagine,  perhaps,  that  conversation  will 
have  great  benefits  to  reach  in  their  case.  You 
would  like  to  talk  with  them.  You  may  be  very 
ingenious,  and  subtle,  and  profound;  but  I warn 
you  they  will  give  you  defeat  in  the  argument. 
They  have  thought  these  matters  over  a great  while ; 
and  that,  too,  when  every  faculty  of  their  minds 
was  quickened  and  excited  under  the  pressure  of 
scenes  of  starvation,  and  sickness,  and  degradation, 
that  they  have  experienced  or  witnessed.  Social 
forms  and  conventional  restrictions  have  vanished, 
in  their  estimation,  into  thin  air,  before  the  great 
humanity  that  agitates  and  sways  them.  They 
have  their  theories,  not  vaguely  defined,  as  you  will 
discover  yours  are,  but  hard,  clear,  sharply-cut,  and 
thrusting. 

Above  all,  they  will  worry  you  with  the  “ Tu 
quoque''  argument.  It  is  a favorite  with  them. 
You  will  sa}',  “ You  ought  to  do  this  or  that they 
will  answer,  “And  youT^  They  think  you  are 
human;  they  know  they  are.  And  they  assert, 
most  recklessly  their  equality  before  God,  and  free- 
dom from  social  estimates  ol‘  every  form. 

^IMicy  will  (juote  Scri})turo  at  you,  and  give  it 


HOME  HEATHEN. 


129 


Strange  turns  of  sentiment.  You  rebuke  them  for 
breaking  the  Sabbath;  they  will  point  to  you  a 
feeble  little  child,  fairly  gaunt  for  air,  and  tell  you 
they  want  to  have  her  go  to  Greenwood  alive  a few 
times  before  they  take  her  there  in  a coffin.  You 
tell  them  that  decency  requires  them  to  cling  to 
the  faith  of  their  fathers  ; and  they  will  reply  it  is 
difficult  to  sing  even  the  Lord’s  song  in  Babylon. 
You  complain  because  they  are  not  seen  in  the 
sanctuary ; and  they  will  ask  you  if  it  is  wise  for 
a poor  widow  to  run  hopelessly  in  debt  just  to  put 
her  two  mites  in  the  treasury. 

Are  these  people  all  right?  No;  not  half  of 
them.  Are  they  amiable  or  proper-tempered?  I 
suspect  not.  I am  afraid  you  would  not  be,  if  you 
were  to  argue  with  them.  You  must  soothe.  Ah, 
I tell  you  beforehand,  you  will  hear  more  bold 
heterodoxy  than  ever  you  heard  before,  if  you  at- 
tempt to  argue  with  many  of  the  mixed  multitude. 
And  now  1 tell  you  likewise,  upon  my  faith,  and 
with  a rebuked  and  humble  heart,  you  will  hear 
moT-e  truth  too. 

3.  The  other  complication,  to  which  I alluded,  is 
the  entafiyled  condition  of  all  laws  concefiming  the  rela- 
6* 


130 


HOME  HEATHEN, 


tioiis  of  the  poor  and  vicious  to  the  opulent  and  strong. 
Men  will  complain  passionately  to  you  that  they 
cannot  be  good  and  honest,  if  they  would;  but 
they  ask  you  to  help  them.  They  implore  you  to 
interfere  between  them  and  what  seems  a great 
impending  hammer  of  society  that  simply  beats 
and  beats  them  down.  And  it  is  when  talking 
about  this  that  they  grow  wildest.  They  handle 
things  rather  loosely.  They  say  “ God  ” in  a way 
that  makes  you  shudder  sometimes,  and  sometimes 
weep.  They  believe  he  is  on  their  side.  They 
think  he  is  their  fast  friend.  If  you  press  them 
with  the  fact  that  they  do  not  serve  him,  they  will 
either  deny  it,  and  turn  their  appeal  away  from 
you  to  High  Heaven,  or  th-ey  will  stand  at  bay 
suddenly,  and  retort  on  you  the  almost  savagely 
abrupt  question,  “ If  you  never  had  food  nor  father, 
school  nor  Bible,  church  nor  home,  where  would 
you  have  been  better  than  I am  T' 

They  charge  much  of  tlieir  vice  on  others,  and 
in  many  cases  you  will  be  saddened  with  the 
j)lausibleness  of  tlic  plea.  When  a man  is  drunken 
and  violent,  and  you  shame  him  and  reproach  him, 
and  then  he  tells  you  in  rej)ly  that*  lie  is  weak 


HOME  HEATHEN. 


131 


there,  and  he  knows  it ; and  then  he  swears  with 
oaths  that  make  the  earth  and  air  almost  tremble, 
how  he  went  forth  in  the  morning  with  a deter- 
mined heart  to  be  sober,  and- a friend,  licensed  by 
the  laws  yon  live  under,  and  the  administrators  of 
which  yon  yourself  helped  to  elect,  tempted  him 
with  a taunt  on  the  corner,  and  rung  a glass  in  his 
ear  because  he  knew  the  week’s  wages  had  just 
come  in ; and  So,  poor  fellow,  he  fell  again.  And 
then,  when  he  says  it  is  no  use  for  him  to  try  to  be 
honest  and  decent,  for  all  the  powers  that  be  are 
leagued  against  him,  and  the  whole  world  would 
be  willing  to  ruin  him,  body  and  soul,  in  the  hell 
of  liquor,  for  the  sake  of  the  money  he  would  need 
to  spend  getting  as  drunk  as  he  is  now — what  are 
you  going  to  say  ? 

Pity  the  poor  rather  than  shun  them.  Be  con- 
siderate. Thoughtlessness  kills  them  by  scores. 
One  of  Dr.  Spencer’s  parishioners  met  him  hur- 
riedly urging  his  way  down  the  street  one  day ; his 
lips  were  set,  and  there  was  something  strange  in 
that  gray  eye:  “How  are  you  to-day.  Doctor?” 
he  said,  pleasantly.  He  waked  as  from  a dream, 
and  replied  soberly.  “ I am  mad  It  was  a new 


132 


HOME  HEATHEN, 


word  for  a mild,  true-hearted  Christian ; but  he 
waited,  and  with  a deep,  earnest  voice,  went  on : ‘‘I 
found  a widow  standing  by  her  goods  thrown  in 
the  street;  she  could  not  pay  the  month’s  rent; 
the  landlord  turned  her  out ; and  one  of  her  chil- 
dren is  going  to  die ; and  that  man  is  a member  of 
my  church ! I told  her  to  take  her  things  back 
again.  I am  on  my  way  to  see  him !”  I think  I 
should  like  to  have  been  present  at  that  interview. 
It  would  have  been  worth  seeing,  that  Christian 
rebuke  from  the  indignant  pastor. 

My  purpose  is  gained  in  this  appeal,  if  it  only 
leads  my  fellow-workers  to  greater  zeal.  I do  not 
here  propose  policies,  but  I pray  you  read  my  text 
over  again:  “Ye  have  the  poor  with  you  always; 
whensoever  ye  wil\  ye  may  do  them  good.”  I can- 
not be  at  rest  while  the  blessed  Faith  seems  back- 
ward or  apathetic.  The  “ cry  of  the  human  ” forces 
itself  in  upon  me. 

While  I sat  here,  in  my  quiet  study,  the  upper 
room  of  my  home,  many  months  ago — my  sermon 
just  completed  at  the  close  of  a day,  folded  nicely, 
laid  labeled  away,  the  evening  coming  on  with  long, 
Ix'autiful  shadows,  tracing  weird  shapes  on  the 


HOME  HEATHEN. 


133 


carpet — suddenl  y my  serene  hour  of  rest  was  broken 
in  upon  by  the  slow  step  of  an  unknown  person 
climbing  the  stairs.  I waited  quite  a while,  the 
sound  nearing  the  door,  as  if  some  one  was  timid,  or 
hesitated,  or  lame.  Then  there  fell  a heavy  burden 
against  the  panels.  I was  startled,  and  went  imme- 
diately to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the  intrusion. 
There  on  the  landing  lay  the  form  of  one  I had 
known  in  far-gone  years — a broken,  sick,  worn  ine- 
briate, evidently  sober,  but  exhausted  even  to  faint- 
ing. He  was  in  the  last  stages  of  a decline.  His 
strength  failed  on  the  very  threshold  of  my  apart- 
ment. I took  the  poor,  thin,  light  burden  up  in 
my  hands,  and  brought  him  in,  and  laid  him  down 
on  my  sofa.  He  panted  so  painfully  for  breath, 
that  I was  actually  frightened.  I thought  he  might 
die  there  with  me  alone.  I gave  him  water,  and 
fanned  him  with  my  sermon — surely  it  never  did  a 
better  service  than  that. 

By  and  by  he  got  his  breath  and  his  utterance; 
but  spoke  painfully,  as  he  did  his  errand : — 

‘‘  I have  come  up  here — very  much  troubled — I want 
— you  to  take  me — by  the  hand — and  just  lead  me — • 
like  a little  child — to  Jesus 


134 


HOME  HEATHEN. 


Do  I need  to  tell  you  how  I tried  my  best  with 
that  poor  fellow  that  remembered  hour  ? But  that 
is  not  my  point.  What  I ^^ant  to  say  is,  that  since 
then  I have  never  been  at  rest.  The  great,  tried, 
feeble,  dying  world  keeps  driving  in  through  every 
crevice  of  my  study  the  wistful  request — Will  you 
lead  me,  like  a little  child,  to  Jesus ! 


X. 


JLigKtntng. 

“ And  he  shall  go  before  him  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias^  to  tarn  the 
hea/rts  of  the  fathers  to  the  childre/ny  —Luke  i.  17. 


OIENCE  tells  us  that  the  best  defense 
against  lightning  in  a thunder-storm  is 
found,  not  in  defiance  of  it,  but  in  a silent  discharge 
of  it.  Go  right  toward  it  fearlessly  with  a pointed 
platina  wire,  and  we  shall  learn  that  it  will  follow 
a fixed  law  of  harmless  dispersion. 

Is  there  any  way  by  which  the  power  of  one  of 
God’s  curses  can  be  drawn,  so  as  to  avert  the  terri- 
ble stroke  of  divine  wrath  ? Let  us  see. 

This  text  refers  us  directly  back  to  the  final  ut- 
terance of  the  Old  Testament.  There  are  four 
books  in  the  Bible  which  end  with  a curse : Mala- 
chi.  Lamentations,  Isaiah,  and  Ecclesiastes.  The 
Hebrew  scribes  were  always  accustomed  to  repeat 
the  verse  just  before  the  last  in  these  cases,  so  as  to. 


136 


DR  A WING  LIGHTNING. 


close  the  reading  with  something  besides  a male- 
diction. It  is  not  easy  to  see  how  this  helps  the 
matter  in  the  present  instance;  for  the  preceding 
prediction  seems  to  have  been  uttered  merely  to 
introduce  the  warning.  And,  perhaps,  it  is  just  as 
profitable  to  believe  that  the  best  way  to  avoid  the 
judgments  of  Grod  is  to  guard  carefully  against 
deserving  them. 

After  the  last  seer  under  the  ancient  dispensation 
had  spoken  the  words  which  the  Evangelist  quotes, 
the  heavens  were  -closed  for  four  hundred  years. 
Jehovah  had  not  another  message  to  send.  His 
people  had  offended  him.  Justice  comes  almost 
fiercely  forth,  and  bars  the  gate  of  revelation,  be- 
cause children  are  despised.  And  not  until  four 
centuries  of  silence  had  given  time  for  repentance 
would  those  bolts  be  withdrawn.  Even  then  it  is 
a little  child  who  advances  to  turn  the  massive 
key.  History  wanders  sadly  in  confusion  among 
the  captivities  and  Maccabean  usurpations.  Only 
an  infiuit  can  join  the  ^rcstaments.  Luke  is  the 
next  man  to  Malachi.  The  sternest  of  all  Israel's 
pro])hets  reappears  in  the  sternest  of  all  heralds  to 
the  church.  “For  all  the  prophets  and  the  law 


DRAWING  LIGHTNING. 


137 


prophesied  until  John ; and  if  ye  will  receive  it, 
this  is  Elias  which  was  for  to  come.” 

The  wonderful  suggestiveness  of  this  passage, 
however,  is  found  in  its  theme.  A wild  threat, 
four  hundred  years  old,  is  suddenly  removed  in  a 
flash  of  benediction.  The  curse  in  Malachi  is 
omitted  in  Luke — the  lightning  is  drawn.  The 
Gospel  fulfills  the  law  when  it  accepts  children. 
God  receives  the  fathers  into  favor  and  communion 
again  when  their  hearts  are  turned  to  their  off- 
spring. 

This  is  the  doctrine  of  the  text.  Hence,  I pre- 
sent to  you  now,  as  a legitimate  subject  of  conside- 
ration, the.  work  of  the  Sunday-school  organization ; 
it  discharges  harmlessly  the  Old  Testament  maledic- 
tions^ and  it  becomes  the  instrument  of  fidfilling  the 
benedictions  of  the  New.  It  is  the  world’s  helper  and 
the  church’s  servant.  You  will  see  this  with  all 
clearness,  if  you  examine  who  are  the  subjects  of 
its  effort,  and  what  it  proposes  to  do  with  them. 

I.  The  subjects  of  Sunday-school  effort  are,  of 
course,  understood  to  be  the  young  of  our  race. 
Oftentimes  these  are  the  least  noticed,  and  the  last 
noticed,  of  all  classes  of  beings  with  souls.  And 


138 


DR  A WING  LIGHTNING, 


yet  there  is  no  truth  more  settled  than  that  Civili- 
zation^ Chivalry  and  Christianity  reach  their  highest 
culmination  in  the  caring  for  children. 

1.  Civilization  is  traced  by  marking  the  progress 
of  history.  We  may  read  the  records  of  human 
life,  profoundly  probing  for  the  motives  of  men, 
analyzing  conventional  laws,  rules,  and  customs, 
until  at  last  we  venture  to  say,  from  a wide  induc- 
tion of  particulars,  we  are  beginning  to  learn  the 
steps  of  advancement  among  the  nations.  And 
now  it  has  come  to  be  confessed  by  the  wisest  phi- 
losophers that  the  clearest  evidence  of  a lofty  civil- 
ization for  any  people  in  any  age  or  clime,  is  found 
in  the  provisions  which  are  made  for  little  children. 
Savages  bind  up  their  infants  with  afflictive  thongs 
of  bark,  as  the  most  expeditious  disposal  to  be  made 
of  them.  Never  till  a land  has  leisure,  never  till  a 
nation  has  refinement,  never  till  most  of  the  steps 
u[>ward  liavc  been  taken  in  the  way  toward  ex- 
alted attainment,  does  there  come  even  one  look 
of  a])preciation  or  sympathy  for  these  “feeble 
folk”  of  society  more  than  the  merest  necessities 
of  existence  or  the  exigencies  of  convenience  re- 
quire. 


DR  A WING  LIGHTNING. 


139 


He  who,  with  kind  heart,  and  subtle  ingenuity 
of  invention,  sits  down  at  his  desk  to  illuminate  a 
j uy enile  volume  with  an  extraordinary  frontispiece, 
or  who  toils  at  his  bench  to  construct  a mechanical 
toy  for  a little  child,  is  in  one  sense  both  the  pro- 
duct and  the  type  of  the  truest  and  the  highest 
civilized  humanity. 

2.  Chivalry  has  always  claimed  to  have  gone 
somewhat  beyond  what  mere  civilization  requires. 
It  has  presented  as  the  supreme  excellence  of  man- 
hood, that  it  recognize  woman’s  worth,  that  it  labor 
to  secure  the  amelioration  of  woman’s  lot,  that  it 
freely  yield  to  woman’s  wish  every  equalization  of 
privilege,  and  that  it  have  respect  to  woman’s  weak- 
ness with  all  indulgence  and  affection.  It  will  ac- 
cept no  apology  for  a lack  in  this  generous  form  of 
consideration.  It  rejects  with  instinctive  repug- 
nance and  horror  all  the  learning  of  Socrates,  all 
his  wisdom,  all  his  morality ; because  it  discovers 
that  he  positively  sold  his  own  wife  at  a price. 
Chivalry  is  accustomed  to  say.  Let  woman  cease  to 
be  both  a slave  and  a toy ; give  her  the  place  she 
deserves  in  the  social  realm ; let  her  become  reg- 
nant as  God  has  made  her  regal ; then  the  summit 


140 


DRA  WING  LIGHTNING. 


will  be  reached,  and  society  will  have  advanced  to 
its  highest  meridian. 

But  when  we  are  ready  to  accept  this  as  final, 
and  actually  begin  to  honor  the  sex  we  deem  no- 
blest, suddenly  we  discover  there  is  that  which  the 
honored  sex  honors  in  its  own  behalf.  Look  up  as 
we  ought  at  woman,  and  we  find  woman  not  look- 
ing down  upon  us,  but  looking  upward  still. 
Crown  a mother,  and  she  will  put  the  diadem  on 
the  head  of  her  boy,  and  bid  you  observe  how  like 
a little  prince  he  wears  it.  Give  her  a deed  of  un- 
told wealth,  and  she  will  indorse  it  for  her  children 
before  she  puts  it  in  the  safe.  She  tells  you  there 
is  something  higher  than  herself  With  quicker 
intuition  and  profounder  wisdom  she  stands  ready 
to  teach  you  that  “ the  child  is  father  to  the  man.’^ 
To  respect  woman  and  not  respect  children  is 
an  impossibility.  As  society  becomes  vicious, 
women  are  professedly  adored ; but  homes  are 
broken,  and  children  are  considered  nuisances. 
And  if  an  oracle  can  ever  instruct  a devotee  at  all, 
then  chivalry  ought  to  have  certainly  learned  by 
this  time  from  the  voice  of  woman  herself,  that  no 
sentiment  of  devotion  to  her  can  be  lofty  till  it  be- 


DRAWING  LIGHTNING. 


141 


gins  to  honor  and  love  her  children  as  she  honors 
and  loves  them. 

3.  Christianity  enters  at  this  point  to' accept  and 
repeat  the  lesson.  Up  to  the  moment  in  which  a 
nation  Lecomes  evangelized,  all  reference  to  the 
young  springs  not  from  interest  in  them,  but  only 
from  the  interest  which  the  community  has  in  its 
own  well-being.  Christianity  takes  up  children  in 
its  arms,  as"^  Christ  did,  for  childhood’s  sake. 
Within  a few  years,  some  in  this  land  of  Gospel 
light  have  come  near  enough  to  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness to  learn  that  he  desires  to  shine  most  be- 
nignantly  upon  the  little  ones,  and  wants  us  to  do 
as  they  do  in  some  eastern  lands  with  infants,  hurry 
them  out  at  birth  where  the  first  ray  of  the  day- 
spring from  on  high  may  visit  them.  When  wealth 
has  multiplied  and  industry  has  prospered,  when 
science  has  increased  and  education  become  easy, 
at  last  the  Sunday-school  has  reached  all  ade- 
quate recognition,  and  the  best  minds  are  laboring 
in  its  behalf  Music,  literature,  and  the  mechani- 
cal arts  are  under  steady  tribute.  “ The  hearts  of 
the  fathers”  are  in  some  measure  turned  to  the 
rjhildren. 


142 


DBA  WING  LIGHTNING. 


And  now  I am  ready  to  say  that  herein  lies  the 
glory  of  the  American  Church  ; we  are  foremost  in 
the  Sunday-school  work.  If  some  great  catas- 
trophe of  nature  were  to  bury  us  under,  as  a sec- 
ond Herculaneum  or  Pompeii,  and  the  antiquarians 
of  a far-future  generation  were  to  unearth  our 
records,  found,  as  they  would  be,  in  the  market  and 
in  the  sanctuary,  in  the  dwelling  and  in  the  street, 
in  the  metropolitan  centers  and  in  the  rural  diver- 
gencies, all  along  and  over  the  country — ^it  would 
not  be  the  proud  structures  of  our  architects,  hior 
the  fine  paintings  of  our  artists;  it  would  not  be 
the  princely  mansions  of  our  opulent  merchants, 
the  thronged  libraries,  the  crowded  marts,  the  curi- 
ous museums  ; it  would  not  be  the  triumphs  of  our 
engineering  skill,  nor  our  inventions  of  ingenious 
tools,  nor  even  the  gatherings  of  highest  learning 
in  our  universities  and  academies;  not  one  nor  all 
of  these  would  be  our  best  evidence  of  civilization ; 
not  one  would  settle  the  question  of  either  our  ad- 
vancement in  real  chivalry  or  Christianity.  Our 
reputation  would  have  to  stand  or  fall  upon  the 
relics  which  would  remain,  to  show  before  that  en- 
lightened age  what  we  had  been  doing  for  children 


DR  A WING  LIGHTNING. 


143 


in  this.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  would  fall  upon 
a toy -shop  or  a depository  of  juvenile  books. 

There  can  really  be  no  denial  of  the  affirmation, 
that  the  highest  reach  of  a Christian  civilization  is 
presented  in  a Christmas-tree  at  an  anniversary  of 
a Sunday-school.  A most  excellent  study  for  any 
thoughtful  man  is  that  tall  evergreen,  with  its  non- 
descript fruit  shining  upon  it,  and  the  Bethlehem 
carol  stirring  its  branches  ! 

II.  Thus  much,  then,  concerning  children  as  the 
subjects  of  our  labor.  Let  us  now  inquire  concern- 
ing the  nature  of  the  work  we  desire  and  propose 
to  do  in  their  behalf  This  is  no  less  than  to  seek 
out.,  to  educate.,  and  to  redeem  children. 

1.  To  seek  them  out — it  may,  possibly,  make 
one  smile  to  speak  of  seeking  out  children  in  neigh- 
borhoods like  ours,  where,  in  all  likelihood,  there 
are  more  quivers  and  more  arrows  in  each  quiver 
than  anywhere  else  in  the  known  world.  Children 
positively  swarm  wherever  you  go.  The  cities  are 
crowded ; the  unhealthiest  localities  and  the  unfit- 
test  households  generally  the  most  so.  And  the 
villages  likewise  are  thronged.  ‘‘Happy  is  the 
people  that  is  in  such  a case.” 


144 


DRAWING  LTGHTNTNG, 


But  this  involves  new  responsibility.  Half  these 
children  die  before  five  years  of  age.  Not  far  from 
one  in  seven  is  buried  before  it  ever  sees  its  anni- 
versary birthday.  What  a waste,  if  God  sends 
them  only  as  he  sends  the  great  tree-loads  of  spring- 
blossoms  for  the  comparatively  little  fruit ! But  he 
does  not.  He  cares  for  the  least  of  them,  though 
he  gives  the  living  multitude  to  the  world  with  all 
munificence  of  profusion.  Some  he  takes  home 
early,  and  himself  teaches.  Some  he  leaves  here 
for  you  and  me  to  teach.  All  these  need  to  be  in- 
terested and  attracted.  In  the  verse  from  Malachi, 
which  the  angel  quotes  only  partially  in  our  text,  it 
is  intimated  that  the  hearts  of  the  children  need  to 
be  turned  to  their  fathers  also.  They  must  be  sought 
out  and  brought  under  the  power  of  the  Gospel. 
They  never  will  be,  until  Christians  become  more 
Christ-like.  Brazilian  rivers  are  full  of  diamonds ; 
what  then  ? The  costliest  jewels  will  only  drift 
down  the  current  and  be  lost  in  the  sands,  unless 
somebody  goes  to  crown-making,  and  gathers  them 
carefully  up. 

2.  To  educate  them,  then,  becomes  another  part 
of  this  work.  And  I make  bold  to  say  that  there 


DBA  WING  LIGHTNING, 


145 


is  no  one  agency  which  is  doing  more  in  this  direc- 
tion than  the  Sunday-school.  This  will  appear  if 
you  consider  the  class  of  instructors,  the  lesson  they 
inculcate,  the  text-book  they  use,  and  the  spirit  by 
which  they  are  actuated. 

Who  are  the  teachers  in  our  Sunday-schools?  In- 
quire them  out  in  turn.  Any  pastor  or  superin- 
tendent can  inform  you.  The  best  zeal  and  the 
truest  efficiency  of  the  church  at  large  are  there. 
God  has  wonderfully  quickened  the  hearts  of  his 
people  latterly  in  this  respect.  The  chief  impres- 
sion left  by  the  last  mighty  revival  in  our  land  was 
concerning  the  power  of  individual  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  lay  membership  in  our  Christian  con 
gregations. 

What  is  the  lesson  they  are  trying  to  impart  ? You 
know  very  well  that  the  questions  which  pass  for 
study  and  answer  between  instructors  and  pupils 
in  these  classes  are  those  that  concern  the  deepest 
needs  and  the  loftiest  aspirations  of  the  human  soul. 
The  tremendous  problems  of  sin  and  salvation  are 
the  staple  of  close  converse.  If  you  draw  nigh,  so 
as  to  overhear  any  recitation,  you  will  listen  only 
to  the  story  of  the  cross  told  over  and  over  again. 
7 


146 


LRA  WING  LIGHTNING. 


now  by  the  parable,  now  by  the  history,  now  by 
the  type.  What  a discipline  is  this  for  stimulating 
and  directing  thought,  with  such  teachers  and  such 
themes ! How  the  intelligence  is  awakened,  how 
the  mind  is  educated — educed.^  drawn  out — into  the 
exercise  of  its  best  powers ! 

What  is  the  text-hook  they  are  accustomed  to  employ  ? 
The  Bible  alone.  The  multitudinous  appliances 
for  help  have  increased  wonderfully  during  the  last 
few  years,  and  yet  all  of  them  are  only  intended  to 
magnify  and  explain  the  Word  of  God.  The  aug- 
mented and  oftentimes  mysterious  influence  of  a 
Sunday-school  lesson  has  this  simple  explanation : 
it  is  as  if  God  spoke,  not  man.  The  truth  which  is 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  heart  and  understanding 
of  the  children  is  immediately  authenticated  and 
accompanied  by  a vital  force  from  heaven  itself. 
Tlie  arguments  for  everything  just,  honest,  pure, 
and  of  good  report,  are  not  drawn  from  a mere 
code  of  morals,  or  backed  by  mere  considerations 
of  expediency ; they  arc  quickened  by  the  unseen 
energy  of  inspiration  which  pervades  them. 

What  is  the  sjnrit  hy  which  they  are  actuated? 
Look  in  for  a moment,  in  imagination,  upon  a work- 


DR  A Wma  LIGHTNING. 


147 


ing  and  effective  Sunday-scliooL  Mark  one  pecu- 
liarity in  attitude.  The  pupil,  in  the  intensity  of 
his  interest,  has  leaned  forward  from  the  bench ; and 
the  instructor,  in  the  absorption  of  his  subject,  has 
bent  forward  from  the  chair ; and  that  circle  of 
foreheads  almost  touch  each  other.  We,  who  are 
a little  enthusiastic  in  such  matters,  call  that  char- 
acteristic posture  the  “ Sunday-school  Arch.”  You 
never  find  it  except  at  the  seats  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  faithful  teachers.  Eemember  that  they 
have  studied  that  lesson  most  carefully,  and  that 
their  whole  hearts  are  in  the  duty  they  are  doing. 
Eemember  that  they  have  wrestled  in  earnest  prayer, 
on  bended  knees,  before  their  Lord  that  very  morn- 
ing, pleading  for  all  needed  assistance.  Then  bear 
in  mind  that  their  pupils  love  them,  honor  them, 
and  now  listen  with  all  the  inquisitiveness  of  kindled 
desire  to  learn  something  new  and  fresh.  And 
the  eyes  fill  sometimes  with  the  suffusion  of  ten- 
der appeal  and  affectionate  exhortation.  Ah  ! is 
not  this  the  place  in  which  to  educate  a soul  for 
God? 

3.  To  redeem  children,  however,  is  the  main  end. 
And  I put  the  question  with  all  earnestness  to  any 


148 


BRA  WIKG  LIGHTNING, 


tliouglitfal  and  candid  man : Wliere  will  you  find  a 
plan  whicli  has  more  hopefulness  in  it  than  this  ? 
God  converts  souls ; our  office  is  to  lead  them  up 
under  the  force  of  the  means  of  grace.  And  is 
there  not  in  this  Sunday-school  Arch  a fitting  sym- 
bol of  the  Divine  promise,  the  very  bow  of  the 
ancient  covenant,  bending  over  these  young  immor- 
tals, with  its  benediction  of  peace  ? Keep  a child 
there,  in  that  focus  of  intense  spiritual  heat  and 
light,  aglow  for  a term  of  years.  Let  him  grow  up 
under  it.  Let  that  immature  form  become  manlier, 
and  perforce  straighten  somewhat  with  tallness ; and 
that  other  form  that  has  been  bending  with  eager- 
ness, begin  to  stoop  with  age ; and  still  let  the 
patient  process  be  continued  and  never  relax  until 
the  place  is  changed,  and  the  pupil  becomes 
a teacher,  and,  beginning  with  a little  group, 
makes  and  tends  a new  arch  of  his  own ; what 
will  be  the  result  of  all  this  pressure  of  training 
in  the  truth?  Go  ask  church-records  what  it  has 
been.  Head  the  names  of  those  who  come  from 
the  Sabbath -cl asses  into  communion  and  mern- 
bership 

My  Christian  friend,  liow  mucli  are  you  doing  in 


DBA  WING  LIGHTNING. 


149 


this  day  of  Gospel  privilege  to  bring  the  hearts  of 
fathers  back  to  their  children  ? Do  we  need  another 
prophet,  with  his  hairy  raiment  and  his  leathern 
girdle,  to  come  forth  from  the  wilderness  ? 


XI 

Infedigeni  Siuctp. 

Search  the  Scripturesy—Zou.^  v.  39. 

HAT  vessel  is  always  liable  to  go  awreck 
whose  pilot  does  not  know  whether  he  is 
steering  for  a light-honse,  or  a light  in  a house. 

In  searching  the  Scriptures,  the  earliest  point  to 
be  settled  is  this  : For  what  are  we  to  look  ? And 
the  answer  we  need  is  furnished  in  the  declarations 
of  the  Bible  itself : “ He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches.” 

'l^he  motto  of  the  mystics  was  : “ The  Scriptures 
mean  all  that  they  can  be  made  to  mean.”  The 
Kabbins  said  there  was  not  a letter,  nor  an  apex  of 
a letter,  whicli  did  not  contain  whole  mountains 
of  meaning.  And  so  they  made  anagrams,  and 
counted  tlie  characters,  and  estimated  the  lines, 
and  read  the  language  backward.  Putting  every 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY. 


151 


thing  in,  of  course  they  drew  out  marvels  and 
wonders  without  limit. 

What  we  want  to  know  is  just  that,  and  nothing 
more,  which  the  Spirit  of  God  intended  to  say. 
And  so  all  the  counsels  on  this  subject  are  simpli- 
fied at  once. 

I.  Search  the  Scriptures  to  ascertain  the  exact 
words  they  employ.  Inaccuracy  in  the  citation  of 
proof-texts  is  as  needless  as  it  is  unfortunate.  For 
an  instructor  of  children,  this  fault  is  of  prime  im- 
portance. “ Thou  which  teaches  another,  teachest 
thou  not  thyself?” 

1.  Be  sure  you  are  quoting  that  which  is  in  the 
Scriptures.  The  Governor  of  Tennessee  had  no 
right  to  put  in  his  message  the  line,  “ ISTow  is  the 
winter  of  our  discontent,”  as  the  utterance  of  “the^ 
prophet;”  It  is  not  in  the  Bible  that  you  will  find 
the  sentimental  figure  of  Sterne,  “ The  Lord  tem- 
pereth  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb.” 

2.  Be  sure  you  are  quoting  the  passage  as  it  is 
in  the  Scriptures.  No  man  would  ever  find  in  the 
Bible  the  absurd  jumble  he  sometimes  opens  his 
prayer  with:  “0  Lord ! we  would  put  our  hand  on 
our  mouth,  and  our  mouth  in  the  dust,  and  cry 


162 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY. 


out,  Unclean,  unclean,  God  be  merciful  to  us,  sin- 
ners.” Children  sit  with  wonderment  under  a con- 
fusion of  acts  and  images  so  incongruous  and  im- 
possible. Four  texts  are  spoiled  to  construct  this 
nonsense.  It  was  the  afflicted  Job  that  laid  his 
hand  on  his  mouth.  It  was  the  yoke-bearing 
youth  in  Lamentations  that  put  his  (not  Job’s) 
mouth  in  the  dust.  It  was  the  leper  in  Leviticus 
that  was  directed  to  put  a covering  on  his  upper 
lip  (not  his  hand  on  his  mouth),  and  cry.  Unclean. 
It  was  the  publican  (with  hands  beating  his  breast, 
and  out  of  the  dust  altogether,  in  the  temple)  who 
said,  God  be  merciful  to  me,  a sinner.  This  is  no 
way  to  quote  God’s  language,  when  speaking  to 
him. 

IL  Search  the  Scriptures  to  learn  the  precise 
facts  tliey  record.  Plain,  unlettered  men  are  often- 
times the  best  expositors  in  the  historic  part  of  the 
Ihble.  Limited  by  no  set  theories  or  pet  creeds, 
they  simply  ask  what  the  sacred  writer  has  in- 
tended to  say.  They  never  spring  upon  you  any 
deliverances  of  “ Mother  Church,”  nor  do  they  stun 
you  with  leaiMicd  citations  from  “the  Fathers.” 
I’hey  claim  no  inner  light”  more  than  other  peo- 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY. 


153 


pie,  nor  do  they  throw  themselves  back  upon  pe- 
culiar “spiritual  insight.” 

1.  Believe  what  the  Bible  says.  Moses  declares 
that  the  waters  of  the  Bed  Sea  were  divided,  stand- 
ing as  a wall  on  either  side ; it  is  all  folly,  there- 
fore, to  seek  for  some  wind,  or  some  tide,  to  cause 
a natural  reflux,  of  which  the  tribes  took  advan- 
tage, and  got  across.  When  Christ  told  Peter  to 
cast  in  his  hook  for  a fish,  that  in  its  mouth  he 
might  find  silver  for  tribute,  there  is  no  propriety 
in  declaring  he  only  meant  to  have  the  disciple  go 
and  sell  the  fish  and  bring  him  the  money. 

2.  Eeject  what  the  Bible  does  not  say.  One 
of  the  old  commentators  read  in  the  sacred  history 
that  Abraham  in  his  later  years  married  Keturah. 
Knowing  that  the  name  Keturah  meant  “sweet 
odor,”  and  remembering  that  sweet  odors  were  used 
as  a symbol  of  spiritual  graces,  he  drew  from  this 
intricate  combination  of  fragments  of  learning  a 
most  felicitous  thought;  namely,  that  before  he 
died,  the  father  of  the  faithful  became  superemi- 
nently sanctified.  Whereas  the  simple-minded 
reader  would  only  understand  from  the  record  that 
the  good  patriarch  took  another  wife  in  his  old  age, 

7-x- 


154 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY. 


wliicli  in  many  respects  is  quite  a different  thing 
from  growth  in  grace.  • 

3.  Be  your  own  judge  as  to  what  the  Bible  does, 
or  does  not,  say.  The  volume  before  us  is  put 
freely  in  our  hands.  The  grand  old  Protestant 
sentiment  yet  holds  the  minds  of  the  people ; every 
man’s  conscience  is  the  ultimate  tribunal  of  de- 
cision concerning  truth.  “No  prophecy  of  the 
Scripture  is  of  any  private  interpretation ; for  the 
prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by  the  will  of  man ; 
but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.”  The  Book  of  God  has  been 
called  “the  god  of  books.”  And  in  nothing  does 
the  majesty  of  its  divinity  appear  so  indisputably 
as  in  its  simplicity  and  clearness  to  an  enlightened 
and  devout  mind.  Neander’s  motto  was:  “It  is 
the  heart  that  makes  the  theologian.” 

1 1 r.  Scarcli  the  Scriptures  to  understand  the  doc- 
trines they  teach.  The  true  rule  for  exposition  is, 
in  a word,  this:  “Comparing  spiritual  things  with 
S])iritual.”  We  must  not  cite,  and  rest  upon, 
isolated  verses,  but  follow  the  general  sense  of 
Scrii)ture,  in  all  our  studies  of  doctrinal  truth. 
^I'his  is  what  the  nj)Ostle  means  when  he  says: 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY. 


155 


“ Let  us  prophesy  according  to  the  proportion  of 
faith.” 

1.  Explain  one  passage  by  another.  This  is  the 
value  of  marginal  references.  In  the  sixteenth 
Psalm,  David  says  : “ My  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope ; 
for  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell ; neither  wilt 
thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption.”' 
Now  what  possible  right  had  our  translators  to  be- 
gin those  words — Holy  One — with  a capital  letter? 
We  look  over  in  the  second  chapter  of  the  Acts, 
and  there  we  find  Peter  expounding  this  Psalm  as 
a prediction  concerning,  not  David,  but  the  Messiah. 
‘‘He  spake  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ.” 

2.  Limit  one  passage  by  another.  “ Answer  not 
a fool  according  to  his  folly,”  must  meet  mid-way 
with  “ Answer  a fool  according  to  his  folly.”  “ Bear 
ye  one  another’s  burdens”  does  not  rebuke  those 
who  accept  “Let  every  man  bear  his  own  burden.” 
There  is  always  some  judicious  stand  which  may 
be  taken  in  contrasting  declarations  like  these. 
God  is  said  to  repent  that  he  made  man ; and  yet 
we  are  told  that  he  is  not  a man  that  he  should  lie, 
neither  the  son  of  man  that  he  should  repent.  We 
are  told  that  he  hardened  Pharaoh’s  heart,  and  yet 


156 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY. 


th^it  Pliaraoli  hardened  his  own  heart.  In  the  Psalm 
we  are  informed  that  darkness  is  God’s  secret  place; 
and  in  the  Epistle  to  Timothy,  that  he  dwelleth  in 
light.  Moses  says,  in  one  verse,  that  J ehovah  spake 
with  him  face  to  face ; and  in  another,  that  no  man. 
conld  see  God’s  face  and  live.  There  is  no  contra- 
diction in  these  apparent  oppositions  of  statement. 
A candid  study  will  find  a middle  ground  between 
them,  sensible  and  safe. 

3.  Interpret  each  passage  by  a common  under- 
standing of  all.  The  Word  of  God  never  contra- 
dicts the  evidence  of  our  senses,  nor  advocates  what 
is  impossible,  nor  outrages  the  dictates  of  decency, 
nor  crosses  our  intuitive  moral  judgments. 

Tt  never  contradicts  the  evidence  of  oitr  senses,  “ If 
the  foundations  be  destroyed,  what  can  the  righteous 
do?”  All  the  decrees  of  a thousand  councils  of 
'^J’rent  can  not  make  me  believe  that  tlie  bread  at 
Communion  is  real  flesh.  It  will  not  do  to  quote 
to  me — “''riiis  is  my  body.”  1 would  sooner  ac- 
knowledge that  that  verse  reads — “This  is  not  my 
body,”  tliaii  tliat  tlie  bread  is  not  bread.  For  if  it 
comes  to  a faith  in  senses,  there  they  stand  four  to 
one.  I would  ratlicr  doubt  my  seeing  the  text, 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY. 


157 


than  doubt  my  seeing,  smelling,  feeling,  and 
tasting  the  bread.  If  I can  not  know  bread  and 
wine,  when  I eat  and  drink,  how  can  I know  any 

thins;  ? 

It  never  advocates  lohat  is  impossible,  Isaiah  never 
walked  barefoot  three  years,  just  to  show  how  the 
Egyptians  would  have  to  walk  barefoot.  Ezekiel 
never  lay  thirteen  months  upon  his  left  side,  look- 
ing point  blank  into  a cooking- utensil  set  on  edge, 
as  if  playing  at  a siege  of  Jerusalem.  If  the  prin- 
ciple of  ecstasy  does  not  explain  these  visions, 
there  is  a principle  somewhere  that  does. 

It  never  outrages  the  dictates  of  decency.  Voltaire 
might  have  spared  himself  all  the  labor  of  ridicul- 
ing Hosea  for  having  to  marry  an  adulterous  wife ; 
and  all  the  sympathy  he  wasted  on  him  for  having 
no  better  success  the  second  trial.  God  never  put 
his  prophets  at  doing  any  such  wickedness. 

It  never  crosses  our  intuitive  moral  judgments.  In- 
spiration does  not  teach  that  one  is  to  hate  his  father 
and  mother  in  order  to  become  a disciple  of  Christ. 
Nor  is  cutting  off  one’s  right  hand,  or  plucking  out 
his  right  eye,  a fixed  means  of  grace.  Self-mutila- 
tion will  not  keep  one  out  of  hell.  These  passages 


158 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY. 


are  to  be  explained  so  as  not  to  contradict  our 
moral  sense  of  right  and  wrong. 

ly.  Search  the  Scriptures  to  discover  the  Christ 
they  reveal.  This  is,  indeed,  the  first  meaning  of 
the  text  as  our  Lord  uttered  it.  ‘‘  Search  the  Scrip- 
tures, for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life. 
And  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me.” 

1.  The  history  is  full  of  Christ.  Study  will  sur- 
prise you  with  the  disclosure  that  it  was  the  same 
Person,  in  whose  bosom  John  lay  at  the  Last  Sup- 
per, who  wrestled  with  Jacob  out  in  the  wood  be- 
yond Penuel.  He  who  was  crucified  on  Calvary 
was  typed  in  the  lad  that  his  father  bound  to  the 
pile  on  Moriah.  The  foot  of  the  cross  was  planted 
on  the  exact  spot  where  Abraham  offered  the  ram 
in  the  place  of  released  Isaac.  Think  of  Joseph’s 
story ; what  a transcript  of  Christ’s  ! 

2.  The  ritual  is  full  of  Christ.  Do  you  remem- 
ber that  beautiful  incident  in  the  Holy  War,  where 
]h*ince  Immanuel  made  a feast?  After  the  eating 
was  over,  he  entertained  the  town  with  some  curious 
riddles,  made  u2)on  King  Sliaddai,  and  ui)on  Im- 
manuel his  son,  and  uj)on  liis  wars  and  doings  with 
Mansoul.  Some  of  tlicse  riddles  “Immanuel  ex- 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY. 


159 


pounded  unto  them,  and,  oh,  how  they  were  light- 
ened! They  saw  what  they  never  saw  before; 
they  could  not  have  thought  that  such  rarities  could 
have  been  couched  in  so  few  and  such  ordinary 
words.  Yea,  they  gathered  that  the  things  them- 
selves were  a kind  of  portraiture,  and  that  of  Im- 
manuel himself  For  when  they  read  in  the  scheme 
where  the  riddles  were  writ,  and  looked  in  the  face 
of  the  Prince,  things  looked  so  like  one  to  the 
other,  that  Mansoul  could  not  forbear  but  say. 
This  is  the  Lamb,  this  is  the  Sacrifice,  this  is  the 
Eock,  this  is  the  Door,  and  this  is  the  Way;  with 
a great  many  other  things  more.” 

3.  The  prophecies  are  full  of  Christ.  One  seer 
foretold  his  birth,  another  his  death,  and  all  of  them 
saw  his  day  afar  off,  and  were  glad.  Never  was 
child  so  longed  for  as  that  infant  of  Bethlehem, 
which  the  world  found  no  room  for  when  he  came. 
On  the  battlements  of  Old  Testament  history  there 
seems  ever  one  anxious  face  at  least,  peering  into 
the  darkness  and  waiting  for  the  dawn.  The  best 
description  of  Jesus  that  Andrew  could  bring  to 
Simon  Peter  was  this : “We  have  found  him  of 
whom  Moses  and  the  prophets  did  write.” 


160 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY, 


4.  The  Gospels  are  full  of  Christ  All  the  inci- 
dents of  those  four  narratives  are  rightly  under- 
stood, only  when  grouped  around  that  strange  life 
they  exhibit  You  remember  the  story  of  the 
Spanish  artist,  who  painted  the  Lord’s  Supper  with 
matchless  perfection.  He  dashed  his  brush  impa- 
tiently over  the  canvas,  as  he  overheard  a bystander 
applauding  the  wine  shining  so  inimitably  well  in 
the  goblets.  “Is  it  possible,”  he  exclaimed,  “that 
any  one  should  see  that  picture,  and  think  of  any 
thing  but  the  face  of  Jesus?” 

5.  The  epistles  are  full  of  Christ.  Doctrinal  truth 
is  the  food  of  the  renewed  soul.  There  shine  out 
the  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises.  Yet 
how  few  reach  the  extent  of  their  meaning!  I 
have  somewhere  read  of  a silver  egg,  once  prepared 
for  a present  to  a Saxon  queen.  Open  the  silver  by 
a secret  spring,  and  there  was  discovered  a yolk  of 
gold.  Find  a spring  in  the  gold,  and  at  the  touch 
it  likewise  flew  open,  and  there  was  a beautiful 
Inrd.  Ih’css  tlic  wings  of  the  bird,  and  in  its  breast 
was  found  a crown,  jeweled  and  radiant.  And 
even  witliin  the  crown,  uj)licld  by  a sj)ring  like  the 
rest,  w.'is  a ring  of  diamond,  fitted  to  tlie  finger  of 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY. 


161 


the  princess  herself.  Oh!  how  many  a promise 
there  is  within  a promise  in  the  Scriptures,  the 
silver  around  the  gold,  the  gold  around  the  jewels ! 
Yet  how  few  of  God’s  children  ever  find  their  way 
far  enough  among  the  springs  to  discover  the  crown 
of  his  rejoicing,  or  the  ring  of  his  covenant  of 
peace  I 

It  is  only  by  your  favor  now  that  I linger  to  state 
a few  closing  reflections. 

1.  Intelligence  is  the  very  foundation  of  piety. 
Truth  gives  life.  It  is  no  shame  not  to  know ; it 
is  only  a shame  not  to  learn.  To  be  ignorant  is 
a misfortune  ; to  remain  ignorant  is  a fault. 

2.  Intelligence  is  the  essential  condition  of  success. 
Truth  converts  the  soul.  Inspiration  is  what  gives 
truth  its  force.  The  best  teachers  are  mighty  in 
the  Scriptures.”  There  is  their  power. 

3.  Intelligence  is  the  measure  of  attainment. 
Thessalonica  was  a large  and  powerful  cit]^  Berea 
was  a little  village.  The  inhabitants  of  the  one 
place  were  wealthy  and  educated ; of  the  other,  poor 
and  illiterate.  But  this  is  the  testimony : “ These 
Bereans  were  more  noble  than  those  in  Thessa- 
lonica, in  that  they  received  the  Word  with  all  readi- 


162 


INTELLIGENT  STUDY, 


ness,  and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily,  whether  those 
things  were  so.” 

4.  Intelligence  is  the  answer  to  prayer.  Truth 
comes  from  God.  Martin  Luther  said : “ To  pray 
well  is  to  study  well.”  Even  the  Psalmist  needed 
the  help : “ Open  thou  mine  eyes,  that  I may  be- 
hold wondrous  things  out  of  thy  Law !” 


XII 

Believe. 

0 

Be  not  afraid;  only  'beUave.'"' — ^Maek  v.  86. 

E were  those  who  one  time  asked  the 
our,  “ What  shall  we  do  that  we  might 
work  the  works  of  God?’^  To  this  he  replied, 
“ This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  him 
whom  he  hath  sent.” 

The  issue,  then,  between  God  and  men  is  nar- 
rowed down  to  this — “only  believe.”  “He  that 
believeth  on  the  Son  of  God  is  not  condemned; 
but  he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  be- 
cause he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only- 
begotten  Son  of  God.”  Hence,  the  true  and  only 
answer  to  an  inquiring  sinner  is,  “ Believe  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.” 

No  man,  however,  can  be  an  inquirer  except 
under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  “ No  man 


164 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


can  come  to  Christ  except  the  Father  draw  him.” 
If  he  comes  asking,  that  proves  that  he  comes 
drawn.  Hence  the  folly  of  those  who  profess  to 
be  waiting  for  the  Spirit  in  order  to  believe.  They 
have  the  Spirit ; they  are  resisting  him,  instead  of 
waiting  for  him,  this  very  moment.  And  hence 
the  correction,  also,  of  all  false  views  of  those  who 
deem  it  perilous  to  urge  on  every  soul  the  duty  of 
immediate  and  believing  surrender  to  Christ ; that 
is  the  Spirit’s  work,  it  is  admitted ; but  this  is  the 
man’s  duty.  He  is  under  the  power  of  the  Spirit  from 
the  moment  he  asks  the  ivay.  And  we  are  bound  to 
bid  him  believe  and  be  saved.  If  he  cannot  under- 
stand it,  we  must  explain  it.  This  is  what  I now 
am  attempting  to  do. 

L Let  us  inquire,  first,  the  meaning  of  the  Scrip- 
tural term. 

1.  When  the  Bible  speaks  of  faith,  it  sometimes 
means  mere  belief  in  facts.  This  kind  of  faith  is 
necessary,  in  a certain  sense,  to  salvation ; for  he 
that  comes  to  Jesus  must  believe  that  he  is.  The 
facts  of*  the  Saviour’s  life  arc  to  be  received  in  that 
way.  But  this  is  not  saving  faith  at  all.  For  we 
read  that  even  the  devils  “believe  and  tremble.” 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


165 


They  know  all  about  the  history  of  the  Prince  of 
Salvation. 

2.  Again,  faith  some  times,  means  that  conviction 
of  the  understanding  which  results  from  proofs  laid 
before  it,  or  arguments  adduced.  This  is  that 
which  Thomas  had,  when,  being  asked  to  put  his 
hand  in  the  side  of  his  Lord,  and  his  finger  in  the 
prints  of  the  nails,  he  was  constrained  by  the  evi- 
dence to  admit  the  reality  of  the  resurrection. 
“ Because  thou  hast  seen,”  said  Jesus  to  him,  “ thou 
hast  believed.”  But  this  is  not  saving  faith;  for 
our  Lord  immediately  added,  “ Blessed  are  they 
that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed.” 

3.  And  sometimes  the  Bible  means  the  faith  of 
miracles.  This  was  a peculiar  gift,  bestowed  by 
Christ  upon  his  immediate  followers,  in  order  that 
they  might  attest  their  Divine  mission  by  using 
Divine  power.  This  is  what  he  intended  when  he 
said,  “If  ye  have  faith,  if  ye  shall  say  unto  this 
mountain.  Be  thou  removed,  and  be  thou  cast  into 
the  sea,  it  shall  be  done.”  Now,  whatever  was  the 
nature  of  this  peculiar  endowment,  it  is  evident 
enough  that  there  was  no  grace  in  it  to  save  the 
Eoul ; for  the  Saviour  himself  declared,  “ Many  will 


166 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


say  to  me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not 
prophesied  in  thy  name,  and  in  thy  name  have  cast 
out  devils,  and  in  thy  name  have  done  many  won- 
derful works  ? And  then  will  I profess  unto  them, 
I never  knew  you.” 

4.  Then,  lastly,  the  Bible  means  saving  faith  ; 
the  true  belief  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through 
which  we  are  justified,  and  by  which  we  live. 

II.  In  the  second  place,  let  us  inquire  concerning 
the  nature  of  this  exercise.  The  old  writers  used 
to  say  that  faith  was  composed  of  three  elements : 
a right  Apprehension,  a cordial  Assent,  and  an  un- 
wavering Trust.  Let  me  seek  to  exhibit  these  in 
turn  in  a very  familiar  way. 

1.  To  apprehend  is  really  a physical  act,  and 
means  to  seize  hold  of.  When  applied  to  mental 
operation,  it  signifies  to  conceive  clearly  any  given 
object,  and  hold  it  before  the  mind  for  examination 
and  use.  It  docs  not  always  include  a full  compre- 
hension ; and  this  is  so  especially  true  in  reference 
to  matters  connected  with  the  plan  of  salvation, 
that  I shall  seek  to  have  it  very  explicitly  under- 
stood here  in  the  outset.  A drowning  man  may 
catch  a roj)C  that  hangs  near  him,  and  be  rescued 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


167 


by  it,  without  knowing  who  threw  it  to  him,  or  who 
will  draw  it  in,  or  what  vessel  it  trails  from.  He 
apprehends  it,  but  he  does  not  comprehend  it.  He 
sees  it,  but  he  does  not  see  all  with  which  it  is  con- 
nected. The  fleeing  Hebrew  might  not  know  who 
erected  the  guide-posts  on  the  way  to  the  cities  of 
refuge,  or  how  they  were  instrumental  in  saving 
him  from  the  avenger  of  blood  when  he  was  within 
the  walls.  But  he  would  need  to  see  the  great 
letters  of  the  word  “ Eefuge”  that  was  printed  on 
them,  and  note  the  direction  in  which  the  index 
finger  pointed. 

JSTow,  a careless  confounding  of  these  terms  has 
caused  a great  many  mistakes  on  the  part  of  those 
who  declare  they  will  not  believe  what  they  can- 
not understand.’^  They  are  not  required  to  believe 
what  they  cannot  apprehend ; but  they  do  believe, 
over  and  over  again,  even  in  the  common  matters 
of  life,  what  they  cannot  comprehend.  The  growing 
of  the  grass,  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  are  as 
complete  mysteries  to  human  understanding  as  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  or  the  Incarnation.  I must 
not  turn  away  from  coming  to  the  Saviour,  because 
I cannot  see  how  God  could  be  manifest  in  the  flesh. 


168 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


Enougli  is  it  for  me,  that  the  Scriptures  reveal  the 
mysterious  fact  that  he  has  been. 

And  here  you  see,  therefore,  how  much  any 
sinner  can  claim  before  he  yields,  and  how  little. 
Naaman  might  not  know,  and  really  had  no  need 
to  know — no  right  to  claim  to  know — how  the  river 
Jordan  could  cure  leprosj^,  or  what  virtue  there 
would  be  in  seven  bathings,  or  what  authority  Eli- 
sha had  to  send  him  there.  But  he  needed  to  know 
clearly  the  prophet’s  directions,  so  as  not  to  mistake 
the  name  of  the  stream,  or  what  he  was  to  do  when 
he  reached  it,  or  forget  the  number  of  times  he  was 
to  wash  to  be  clean.  And  this  he  had  a fair  right 
to  know  before  the  crime  of  disobedience  was  urged 
upon  him.  Now,  this  is  the  precise  limit  of  knowl- 
edge which  the  sinner  may  claim  to  have,  before  his 
obligation  to  believe  begins.  He  may  ask  just  as 
much  information  as  the  Israelite  bitten  by  the  fiery 
serpent  in  the  wilderness  might  ask : Where  is  that 
image  of  brass?  what  must  I do  when  I approach 
it?  I am  ready  to  go.  When  Moses  had  replied, 
It  is  close  by  you  in  the  midst  of  the  camp;  you 
arc  only  to  look  and  to  live;  then  his  solemn  duty 
began,  and  he  was  responsible  for  his  own  delay. 


ONLY  BELIEVE, 


169 


With  the  philosophy  of  the  cure  he  had  nothing 
to  do. 

The  two  essential  things  for  every  man  to  appre- 
hend, are  his  own  need,,  and  Jesus  Chrisfs  fitness  to 
supply  it.  There  ' is  the  inward  look,  and  then 
there  is  the  outward  look.  I cannot  help  myself, 
and  the  Saviour  can  help  me,  are  the  two  thoughts 
that  must  lie  buried  deep  in  his  soul.  It  matters 
little  how  these  things  are  learned.  “ There  are 
diversities  of  operations,  but  the  same  Spirit”  The 
Holy  Grhost  may  teach  one  person  through  the  read- 
ing of  the  word ; another  person  through  some  stroke 
of  Providence,  or  by  the  ministry  of  reconciliation. 
In  one  way  or  another  the  soul  must  come  to  see 
its  ruin  and  its  Kedeemer;  to  feel,  its  helplessness 
and  know  its  Helper.  It  may  not  see  how  it  came 
to  be  so  desperately  ruined,  nor  how  Jesus  can  be 
of  such  paramount  relief  to  it.  It  may  know  no 
more  than  blind  Bartimeus  did ; that  he  could  not 
see,  and  that  the  Nazarene  Healer  was  passing  by. 
Those  two  things,  however,  every  sinner  needs  to 
perceive. 

2.  Then  comes  the  second  element  of  faith,  al- 
ready mentioned — namely,  assent  This  is  a step 
8 


170 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


in  advance  of  the  other.  A simple  illustration  will 
make  plain  what  is  meant  by  it.  An  invalid  is 
sometimes  very  unwilling  to  admit  his  danger,  even 
when  he  has  nothing  to  oppose  to  the  reasoning  of 
one  who  proves  it.  He  feels  his  weakness,  but  he 
resorts  to  a thousand  subterfuges  to  avoid  yielding 
to  the  physician.  His  judgment  is  convinced,  but 
his  will  is  unbroken.  He  apprehends  his  danger, 
and  knows  the  remedy ; but  he  refuses  to  be  helped. 
What  he  needs  now  is  assent;  and  this  requires 
humility  and  the  renunciation  of  self-will. 

Faith  includes  this.  It  calls  for  a cheerful  sub- 
mission to  God’s  requirements,  the  moment  we 
apprehend  them,  no  matter  how  humiliating  the 
assertion  of  our  ill-desert  may  be.  When  the  Syro- 
phenician  woman  came  pleading  to  our  Saviour,  he 
gave  her  faith  a most  severe  testing  before  he 
granted  her  petition.  “It  is  not  meet,”  he  said, 
“to  take  the  children’s  bread  and  cast  it  to  tho 
dogs.”  Now,  did  she  grow  angry  at  this  rebuff? 
Did  slic  refuse  to  admit  its  justice?  Did  she  go 
away  grieved,  because  lie  seemed  to  be  harsh  to  her? 
No,  indeed;  she  admitted  it' all.  “Truth,  Lord,” 
said  she,  ‘ yet  the  dogs  cat  of  the  crumbs  that  fall 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


171 


from  their  master’s  table.”  Then  he  raised  her  up, 
saying,  “ 0 woman,  great  is  thy  faith ; be  it  unto 
thee  as  thou  wilt.”  She  not  only  saw  the  truth, 
but  assented  to  it  likewise,  though  the  admission 
was  humbling  in  the  extreme.  And  so  must  the 
inquiring  sinner  give  assent  to  all  the  teachings  of 
the  Gospel,  self-abasing  as  they  are ; admit  every 
thing ; throw  up  all  excuses ; leave  all  refuges  of 
lies;  renounce  self  altogether  ; “ only  believe.” 

3.  The  third  element  of  saving  faith  is  trust  By 
this  I mean  reliance  on  the  truth  of  what  God  has 
said  he  would  do ; a quiet  resting  on  his  promises 
to  accomplish  all  we  need  for  salvation.  You  re- 
member in  the  case  of  the  centurion,  our  Lord 
declared  he  “ had  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not 
in  Israel.”  Now,  what  was  it  that  made  his  faith 
in  particular  so  great,  so  peculiar  in  itself,  and  so 
superior  in  the  estimation  of  the  Saviour  ? Simply 
the  presence  in  it  of  superabounding  trust.  He 
had  come  for  a gift  of  healing  to  be  bestowed  upon 
his  servant  lying  at  home  sick.  To  his  request 
Jesus  replied,  “I  will  come  and  heal  him.”  One 
would  think  that  now  the  centurion  would  doubt  a 
‘little.  Might  not  the  Saviour  forget  his  promise  in 


172 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


the  multiplicity  of  his  cares  ? Might  he  not  delay 
coming  till  too  late  ? Even  this  suspicion  made  his 
trust  a matter  of  somewhat  difficult  exercise  ; and 
yet  that  man  was  willing  to  go  further.  He  was 
content  to  rest  on  a mere  declaration,  without  a 
promise.  ‘‘Speak  the  word  only,”  said  he,  “and 
my  servant  shall  be  healed.”  He  did  not  care  to 
have  the  Saviour's  presence,  if  he  would  only  say 
the  man  should  be  whole.  Then  he  could  depart 
to  his  house  restful  and^  satisfied. 

This  is  trust ; acquiescence  without  question,  rest- 
fulness  without  wavering ; and  it  is  the  most  essen- 
tial part  of  faith,  and  yet  the  most  difficult  to  exer- 
cise. Almost  all  in  our  Christian  communities  have 
two  of  the  elements  of  faith  already  mentioned. 
They  know  the  Saviour’s  history.  They  under- 
stand his  Gospel  plan.  They  have  been  told  his 
ability  and  his  willingness  to  save  them.  A first 
step  then,  apprehension,  has  been  taken.  And  so 
has  a second,  assent,  been  taken  by  very  many, 
'’riicy  do  not  doubt  one  word  that  God  has  spoken, 
'^riiey  feel  their  ruin.  Tlicy  are  under  a constant 
conviction  of  sin.  l^hcy  admit  everything.  Now, 
what  yet  do  they  need  ? Nothing  except  this  third 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


173 


step,  trust;  “Only  believe.”  Eely  on  the  Saviour. 
Eest  in  him.  Hold  to  his  truth  in  all  he  says. 

III.  The  use  to  be  made  of  this  analysis,  comes 
next  to  view.  We  are  ready  to  speak  to  any  in- 
quiring sinner  in  our  class  directly,  and  this  is  what 
to  say. 

Your  experience  hitherto  has  been  something 
like  this.  You  have  seen  your  need;  you  have 
admitted  it ; you  have  gone  in  prayer  to  Jesus  con- 
fessing it.  Told  to  pray,  you  did  pray.  Moved  by 
some  faithful  sermon,  or  tract,  or  conversation,  you 
have  gone  home  to  the  privacy  of  your  own  cham- 
ber, making  sober  resolution  to  become  a Christian 
at  once.  You  know  you  have  been  a sinner,  con- 
demned to  eternal  death.  You  assented  to  all  that 
the  word  of  God  charges  on  you.  And  you  longed 
to  be  helped.  Told  to  confess,  you  did  confess. 
Told  you  must  be  in  earnest,  you  honestly  think 
you  laid  your  whole  heart  bare  before  God.  You 
acknowledged  everything,  and  only  plead  for  par- 
don. You  said  in  your  prayer,  “0  Lord,  I am 
vile,  I come  to  thee ; I plead  thy  promise  that  thou 
wilt  not  cast  me  out ; I give  myself  away  in  an 
everlasting  surrender ; I leave  mj  soul  at  the  very 


174 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


foot  of  the  cross  !”  And  then  you  rose  from  your 
knees,  murmuring,  “ Oh,  I am  no  better ; I feel  just 
the  same  as  before !” 

You  saw  that  you  had  made  a failure.  Now 
where  was  the  lack?  Simply  in  the  particular  of 
trust  You  would  not  take  Jesus  at  his  word.  He 
had  said,  “Him  that  cometh  unto  me  I will  in  no 
wise  cast  out.”  So  you  plead  with  him.  You  came 
unto  him,  but  you  insist  that  he  did  cast  you  out 
after  all. 

You  said — here  I am ; and  then  you  drew  back. 
You  said — I give  myself  to  thee;  and  then  you 
took  yourself  away  again.  You  trifled  with  God. 
You  should  have  left  yourself  there,  and  trusted 
your  soul  with  him,  as  you  said  you  would.  Let 
me  suggest  to  you  where  your  disappointment  was 
centered.  I think  I can  tell  you  what  you  half- 
expected,  half-bargained,  on  the  spot. 

If  some  clear  voice  had  only  spoken  to  you  as 
you  kneeled,  saying,  “ Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee ; 
go  in  j)cace,”  how  your  heart  would  have  leaped  for 
joy.  If  you  could  only  have  seen  Paul’s  “great 
light,”  tliat  would  have  confirmed  yon.  Or  if  even 
Borne  aged  minister  liad  bent  over  and  whispered 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


175 


in  your  ear,  “You  are  received,  1 am  sure,”  then 
you  would  perhaps  have  been  satisfied,  and  begun 
tremblingly  to  hope.  But  because  you  had  nothing 
of  this,  not  even  a sign  without,  or  a strange  feel- 
ing within,  that  you  could  make  to  answer  for  a 
sign,  you  were  discouraged.  Now,  I have  three 
remarks  to  make  about  this  action  of  yours,  and 
its  result. 

In  the  first  place,  let  me  say,  I would  not  have 
been  the  minister  to  tell  you  of  your  acceptance, 
for  all  the  world.  For  then  you  would  have  be- 
lieved in  me,  not  in  the  Saviour.  No  man  has  any 
right  to  say  such  a thing  to  you.  I have  seen  those 
who  in  revival  times  will  question  and  direct  for  a 
while,  and  then  say  to  young  persons,  “ All  right, 
you  are  converted !”  and  my  blood  has  run  cold. 
They  know  nothing  about  it. 

In  the  second  place,  let  me  tell  you  that  you 
never  will  have  any  such  sign,  without  or  within, 
to  be  your  confirmation.  If  God  ever  gives  any- 
thing of  the  sort,  it  will  only  be  afterward,  for  your 
comfort.  “We  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight;”  and 
this  would  be  sight,  not  faith.  God  does  not  deal 
with  men  so..  He  claims  that  that  they  shall  trust 


176 


ONLY  BELIEVE, 


him  without  speaking.  If  you  stand  off,  saying  in 
your  heart,  I will  believe  the  moment  \feel  accepted, 
you  will  never  be  accepted.  You  must  trust,  and 
ask  no  favors.  Then  God  will  give  you  what  he 
pleases.  And  most  likely,  one  day  or  another,  he 
will  give  you  some  token  of  his  love  that  will  aid 
you  ; but  he  never  will,  if  you  bargain  for  it. 

Go  again  then ; do  not  wait,  nor  grieve,  nor  bar- 
gain, nor  doubt  Do  not  reply  to  me,  “ Oh,  I have 
done  all  I can  over  and  over  again ; and  it  is  of  no 
use.”  There  is  one  thing  you  can  do, -that  you 
never  have  done  yet  You  can  trust  the  Saviour. 
So  I say  again,  and  keep  saying  to  you,  Only  be- 
lieve.” 

In  the  third  place,  let  me  say,  that  if  this  sign 
were  given  you,  it  would  be  the  most  dangerous 
thing  for  you  that  could  be  conceived.  Because 
then  you  would  trust  the  sign,  and  not  the  Saviour. 
Perhaps  you  have  read  that  story  of  the  woman, 
told  in  the  “ Pastor  s Sketches,”  who  saw  a beau- 
tiful Bird  of  Paradise  on  a blue  globe,  and  believed 
it  was  the  evidence  God  had  sent  to  show  her  she 
was  born  again.  Are  you  surprised  to  find  that 
wljen  she  was  asked  for  her  ground  of  salvation, 


ONLY  BELIEVE.  177 

she  had  to  tell  all  about  that  ridiculous  dream  the 
very  first  thing  ? So  would  you,  if  you  had  any 
such  folly  in  your  mind.  And  by  and  by  you 
would  wake  to  the  consciousness  that  only  Jesus 
can  save  your  soul,  and  you  had  been  deceiving 
yourself  all  this  time. 

When  you  have  given  yourself  to  Christ,  leave 
yourself  there,  and  go  about  your  work  as  a child 
in  his  household.  When  he  has  undertaken  your 
salvation,  rest  assured  he  will  accomplish  it,  with- 
out any  of  your  anxiety,  or  any  of  your  help. 
There  remains  enough  for  you  to  do,  with  no  con- 
cern for  this  part  of  the  labor. 

Let  me  illustrate  this  posture  of  mind  as  well  as 
I can.  A shipmaster  was  once  out  for  three  nights 
in  a storm ; close  by  the  harbor,  he  yet  dared  not 
attempt  to  go  in,  and  the  sea  was  too  rough  for  the 
pilot  to  come  aboard.  Afraid  to  trust  the  less  ex- 
perienced sailors,  he  himself  stood  firmly  at  the 
helm.  Human  endurance  almost  gave  way  before 
the  unwonted  strain.  Worn  with  toil,  beating 
about ; worn  yet  more  with  anxiety  for  his  crew 
and  cargo ; he  was  well  nigh  relinquishing  the 
wheel,  and  letting  all  go  a-wreck,  when  he  saw  the 
8* 


178 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


little  boat  coming,  with  the  pilot.  At  once  that 
hardy  sailor  sprang  on  the  deck,  and  with  hardly  a 
word  took  the  helm  in  his  hand.  The  Captain 
went  immediately  below^  for  food  and  for  rest ; and 
especially  for  comfort  to  the  passengers,  who  were 
weary  with  apprehension.  Plainly  now  his  duty 
was  in  the  cabin  ; the  pilot  would  care  for  the  ship. 
Where  had  his  burden  gone?  The  masters  heart 
was  as  light  as  a school-boy’s ; he  fell  no  pressure. 
The  pilot,  too,  seemed  perfectly  unconcerned;  he 
had  no  distress.  The  great  load  of  anxiety  had  gone 
forever ; fallen  in  some  way  or  other  between  them. 

Now  turn  this  figure.  We  are  anxious  to  save 
our  soul,  and  are  beginning  to  feel  more  and  more 
certainly  that  we  cannot  save  it.  Then  comes 
Jesus,  and  undertakes  to  save  it  for  us.  We  see 
how  willing  he  is ; we  know  how  able  he  is ; there 
we  leave  it.  We  let  him  do  it.  We  rest  on  his 
promise  to  do  it.  We  just  put  that  work  in  his 
hands  to  do  all  alone ; and  we  go  about  doing  some- 
thing else;  self-improvement,  comfort  to  others, 
doing  good  of  every  sort.  He  feels  no  burden. 
What  troubled  us  so,  does  not  trouble  him.  All 
wc  need  to  do  is  to  hold  our  confidence  firm.  What 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


179 


if  that  captain  should  keep  running  up  to  see  if  the 
pilot  was  still  there  ; or  to  offer  to  help  him ; or  to 
make  suggestions ; would  it  not  be  folly  ? So,  for 
us  to  keep  distressing  ourselves  about  salvation 
when  we  have  given  all  that  work  to  Christ,  is 
worse  than  folly  ; it  is  doubting  the  Saviour,  slight- 
ing his  love,  giving  up  trust  in  him  just  as  we 
begin  it. 

One  more  illustration  will  make  the  whole  matter 
clear.  A little  child,  running  up  to  bid  her  father 
good-by  in  the  morning  as  he  goes  to  business, 
says,  Bring  me  a present  to-day.”  “What  shall 
it  be,  little  one?”  So  he  questions.  “What  will 
you  give?”  she  returns  upon  him.  ^’‘Anything  you 
he  replies.  That  proves  too  much  for  the 
young  heart  to  hold  alone.  She  hurries  for  a faith- 
ful help  she  has : “ Mother,  what  shall  I ask  him 
to  fetch  me  to-night;  he  says  anything  T''  “Are 
you  sure  of  the  word,  my  child?”  “Yes,  mother, 
he  said  he  would  give  me  anything  I ask  ; I know 
he  means  of  course  anything  that  is  proper  for  a lit- 
tle girl ; and  I cannot  think  what  I want  the  most.” 
“ Tell  him  to  bring  a Pilgrim’s  Progress  for  you.” 

And  before  the  words  are  all  out,  the  eager  child 


180 


ONLY  BELIEVE, 


is  in  the  hall  again.  “ Father,  bring  me  a Pilgrim’s 
Progress  bnt  no  word  of  reply.  He  puts  on  his 
coat,  and  there  is  a tug  at  the  skirt ; “ Father,  will 
you  do  it  ? a Pilgrim’s  Progress ; will  you  bring 
it?”  And  no  answer  yet;  and  no  answer  at  all 
He  is  gone.  Does  the  child  doubt ? No.  Why? 
Because  her  mother  calls  her  up  to  say,  “You  will 
get  that  book.”  “ How  do  you  know  ?”  questions 
the  little  one. 

“ For  two  reasons : firsts  your  father  never  told  a 
lie ; and  he  said  he  would  give  you  anything  you 
asked ; second^  you  have  asked  what  most  of  all  he 
wanted  you  to  have ; for  I heard  him  say  he  wished 
his  little  girl  would  read  Pilgrim’s  Progress  through. 
Never  mind  that  he  said  no  more ; he  wants  to 
know  you  trust  him  and  love  him.” 

And  when  I find,  my  inquiring  friend,  that  you 
are  disturbed  because  you  have  no  word  nor  sign, 
although  you  have  asked  God  to  forgive  you  and 
give  you  a new  heart,  I can  only  say  to  you,  trust 
him  for  that.  I have  two  reasons  also:  i/e  never 
told  a lie,  and  He  surely  said,  “Ask  whatsoever 
you  will  and  you  have  asked  of  him  the  very 
tiling  lie  desired  most  earnestly  to  give  you. 


ONLY  BELIEVE. 


181 


There,  then,  is  the  direction  found  in  a word; 
yet,  oh,  how  full  of  meaning  it  is  ! Be  not  afraid; 
only  Believer  Come  to  the  Saviour ; rest  on  him  ; 
hold  yourself  to  him.  Say  in  a prayer : — 

“ Just  as  I am ; thy  love  unknown, 

Hath  broken  every  barrier  down ; 

Now  to  be  thine,  yea,  thine  alone, 

0 Lamb  of  G-od,  I come  I” 


XIII. 

The  Teaclier  Tau^lif. 

“ Thou  therefore  xchich  teachest  another^  teachest  thou  not  thyself  — 
Romans  ii.  21. 

N his  conversation  with  Nicodemns  our 
Saviour  enunciated  the  principle  to  which 
all  Christian  usefulness  must  eventually  be  referred ; 
namely,  that  religious  instruction,  in  order  to  be 
effective,  must  grow  up  out  of  one’s  personal  ex- 
perience. A careful  exposition  of  the  passage  from 
which  our  text  is  taken  will  show  that  it  offers  like- 
wise an  illustration  of  the  same  rule. 

The  model  Pharisee  of  primitive  times  imagined 
lie  was  reaching  the  ultimate  height  of  excellence 
when  he  could  call  himself  a Jew  ; he  asserted  for 
himself  the  most  edifying  orthodoxy  ; he  presented 
liis  life  as  tlio  j)attcrn  of  flawless  morality  and 
eminent  devotion  ; he  claimed  extraordinary  kden- 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT 


183 


ness  in  discrimination,  approving  only  what  was 
excellent;  he  contemplated  himself  as  sublimely 
equal  to  any  exigency  of  public  station ; he  could 
inform  the  ignorant,  illumine  the  darkened,  give 
counsel  to  bewildered  adults,  and  help  forward  un- 
taught children,  being  fully  conversant  with  all  the 
ritual  and  all  the  creed. 

Yet  with  all  these  assumptions  the  apostle  seems 
to  have  discovered  that  whi^  led  him  to  rate  such 
a creature  as  a mere  spiritual  quack ; and  he  here 
denounces  him  with  terrible  violence.  This  man, 
so  earnest  against  thieving,  had  a touch  of  dishon- 
esty ; so  stern  in  pressing  the  penalties  of  the 
seventh  commandment,  had  some  sins  which  would 
look  ill  under  scrutiny.  In  a w"brd,  he  was  instruct- 
ing others  with  no  word  for  himself.  And,  again, 
with  great  detail  of  illustration  so  as  not  to  be  mis- 
understood, St.  Paul  reiterates  the  grand  principle 
of  the  Gospel : religious  instruction  is  to  he  indorsed 
hy  the  living  experience  of  the  instructor. 

This  is  the  theme  upon  which  I venture  once 
more  to  address  my  fellow-workers  in  the  Sunday- 
school.  A few  general  considerations  will  rendei 
the  point  sufficiently  clear. 


184 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT 


1.  Consider,  first,  the  great  common  need  under 
which  humanity  lies.  It  has  pleased  God  to  make 
men  instruments  of  good  to  each  otlier.  Hence  the 
proclamation  of  the  Gospel  is  necessarily  experi- 
mental. No  converted man  has  really  any  thing 
more  to  say  than  this : “ Come  and  hear,  all  ye  that 
fear  God,  and  I will  declare  what  he  hath  done  for 
my  soul.” 

There  is  singular  advantage  in  this  method,  if 
only  faithfully  carried  out.  It  invokes  all  the 
power  of  sympathy.  It  renders  one  man  influen- 
tial over  many.  It  saves  material.  It  stimulates 
exertion.  Men  are  always  moved  to  action  in  their 
own  behalf  when  they  find  others,  once  confessedly 
in  the  same  category,  now  relating  and  commending 
the  means  of  their  extrication.  Naaman  was  just 
the  person  to  tell  lepers  of  the  prophet  in  Samaria, 
who  had  bidden  him  go  wash  in  the  Jordan.  Bar- 
timeus  was  just  the  right  one  to  lead  blind  men  to 
Jesus,  who  had  opened  his  eyes.  Hence  it  is  per- 
fectly natural  that  we  demand  of  him  who  teaches 
us  that  he  should  first  have  felt  the  truth  he 
})roncrs,  that  lie  should  have  experienced  the  good 
he  jiroinises,  that  he  should  have  obeyed  the  com- 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT. 


185 


mand  he  is  urging.  -We  instinctively  question  the 
right  of  any  individual  to  address  us  upon  those 
grand  matters  of  personal  salvation,  unless  he  can 
say  as  Christ  did,  “We  speak  that  we  do  know, 
and  testify  that  we  have  seen.”  He  is  in  as  great 
peril  as  we  are  ; he  is  in  as  much  need  as  we -are; 
and  we  say,  “Physician,  heal  thyself!” 

II.  Consider,  in  the  second  place,  the  aim  of  all  re- 
ligious instruction.  The  conscience  must  be  reached, 
and  through  its  monitions  the  entire  life  must  be 
influenced,  or  else  all  teaching  is  wasted.  And 
conscience  is  seared  more  or  less  in  every  case 
where  the  soul  has  so  far  passed  from  mere  infancy 
as  to  reach  the  exercise  of  free-will.  Great  inge- 
nuity is  required  in  order  to  reach  it ; something 
more  than  ingenuity  is  required  in  order  to  arouse 
it.  Even  then  it  is  often  misunderstood. 

Nothing  appears  so  mysterious  as  the  forms  of 
operation  which  this  inner  monitor  chooses.  Some- 
times it  seems  to  render  a man  harder  and  more 
violent ; and  yet  at  that  very  wildest  moment  he  is 
nearer  yielding  than  ever  before.  Sometimes  it 
melts  a man  into  deep  emotion ; and  yet  we  pain- 
fully discover  afterward  that  this  has  been  mere 


186 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT. 


ebullition  of  excited  feeling.  The  main  question  to 
be  answered  with  1^11  teachers  is  this : How  may  we 
learn  to  discriminate  in  these  confusing  manifesta- 
tions ? 

The  answer  is  much  easier  than  many  are  inclined 
to  suppose.  We  can  not  grow  skillful  in  distin- 
guishing these  external  shows,  without  diligent 
studies  of  our  own  internal  experience.  Conscience 
must  be  watched  in  its  working  within  our  hearts. 
“ As  in  water  face  answereth  to  face,  so  the  heart 
of  man  to  man.”  But  face  does  not  answer  to  face 
exactly ; features  of  children  differ,  and  expressions 
of  countenance  are  flitting  and  fitful.  Still,  the 
number  and  the  name  of  the  lineaments  are  on 
every  face  the  same.  On  general  principles,  that 
truth  is  most  effective,  which,  having  proved  itself 
forceful  in  reaching  our  own  consciences,  goes  from 
its  success  there  directly  and  unhindered  upon  the 
intrenchments  of  another.  And  let  it  wear  all  its 
awful  power  undisturbed ; when  it  has  the  divine 
doctrine  of  r(‘pcntance  to  utter,  it  would  be  folly  to 
change  even  its  raiment  of  caincl’s  liair,  or  cover 
tlic  coarsemess  of  the  leathern  girdle  about  its 
loins. 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT 


187 


III.  Consider,  again,  the  variety  of  forms  employed 
in  Scripture  instruction.  “ All  Scripture  is  given 
by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine, 
for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  right- 
eousness, that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thor- 
oughly furnished  unto  all  good  works.”  ‘But  then, 
how  much  there  is  of  it ! One  becomes  bewildered 
and  embarrassed  in  the  midst  of  such  riches.  There 
is  room  for  any  amount  of  skill  in  discriminating 
what  doctrine  or  what  principle  or  what  precept  to 
apply  in  each  given  case  to  insure  most  good,  and 
avert  all  evil. 

Now,  it  is  no  reproach  for  me  to  utter,  when  I 
assert  that  matiy  of  our  Sunday-school  teachers  are 
at  a loss  here.  Are  there  none,  even  in  this  day  of 
light,  who  turn  over  the  pages  of  God’s  word  help- 
lessly in  search  of  some  reply  to  an  inquiring  soul  ? 
When  the  tossed  world  is  drifting,  and  a passenger 
lies  at  the  point  of  death,  are  there  none  wfe^.urry 
boldly  to  the  Bible,  as  a sailor  to  the  medicine- 
chest  ; and  yet  stand  appalled  at  the  formidable  - 
array  of  spiritual  drugs,  any  one  of  which  possibly 
might  be  helpful  or  hurtful,  if  only  they  could 
know  which?  How  can  we  learn  what  truth  to 


188 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT 


employ  or  what  phases  of  truth  to  present  ? There 
surely  can  be  but  one  reply  to  this  question. 

Let  the  Scriptures  be  studied  experimentally.  Let 
the  Christian  teacher  re-work  every  principle  he 
offers  to  others,  first  into  his  own  mind,  and  out- 
work it  into  his  own  life.  It  will  not  be  long  be- 
fore he  will  have  gone  over  most  of  the  moods  and 
tenses  of  religious  feeling  he  will  meet.  It  might 
not  be  safe  that  every  physician  try  the  effect  of  his 
prescriptions  upon  himself  first;  but  for  spiritual 
cures  there  is  no  process  that  can  be  more  confi- 
dently commended.  “ Out  of  the  abundance  of  the 
heart  the  mouth  speaketh.” 

IV.  Consider,  furthermore,  the  power  of  a godly 
example.  The  common  law  of  influence  can  not  be 
expected  to  fail,  just  because  the  force  exerted  has 
in  some  cases  become  salutary.  The  habit  of  the 
human  heart  is  inveterate.  Men  are  imitative, 
and  in  nothing  so  much  as  religious  observance. 
Moreover,  they  insist  upon  identifying  a moral 
teacher  with  what  he  teaches.  Especially  under 
the  Gospel  will  they  have  it  that  Christians  shall 
incarnate  the  truth  they  urge  on  others,  and  shall 
become  the  ])crsonal  embodiment  of  it  with  all  its 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT. 


189 


predicted  results.  They  will  not  snJBfer  a limping 
man  to  propose  an  effective  cure  for  lameness. 

Bear  in  mind  that  the  world  has  this  much  of  a 
show  of  unusual  reason  in  the  case  of  the  followers 
of  Christ ; he  expressly  taught  that  they  should  be 
accepted  as  illustrations  and  exemplifications  of  the 
Gospel.  The  force  of  one  sentence  in  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  turns  upon  the  insignificant  wor^, 
Soy  “Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men  that 
they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.”  “If,  therefore,  the 
light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness,  how  great  is  that 
darkness !”  In  like  manner,  the  apostles  taught, 
“Ye  are  living  epistles,  known  and  read  of  all  men.” 

Hence  there  can  be  no  inconsistency  so  utter  as 
an  inconsistent  Christian  teacher  presents.  There 
can  no  failure  be  more  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  a 
ribald  world  than  that  of  a man  who  urges  a truth 
and  lives  a lie.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  whenever 
fully  possessed  of  the  power  of  the  Gospel,  pervaded 
with  its  spirit,  and  radiant  with  its  light,  a grand  life 
goes  about  doing  good,  that  life  has  a majestic 
driving  force  to  it  almost  unlimited.  Men  bend 
subdued  to  an  influence  which  they  can  not  com- 


190 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT 


prebend,  but  which  they  know  is  safe,  and  which 
they  feel  they  can  trust  implicitly.  Finer  picture 
of  human  greatness  there  is  not  even  in  the  Bible 
than  that  of  Simon  Peter,  when  the  multitudes 
brought  the  sick  out  on  couches,  that  they  might 
lay  them  where  at  least  his  shadow  could  fall  on 
them.  Oh ! believe  me,  this  poor  world  has  been 
deceived  cruelly  a great  many  times,  bul^  it  is  yet 
intelligent  enough  to  recognize  its  best  benefactors. 
There  is  no  one  thing  it  loves  more  to  abide  under 
than  a good  man’s  shadow — the  only  shadow  on 
this  planet  that  renders  it  more  luminous  besides 
the  shadow  of  the  Almighty  wing. 

V.  Consider,  in  the  fifth  place,  the  law  of  the  Holy 
Spirit^ s action.  Truth  is  propagated  not  by  trans- 
mission through  mere  symbols,  but  by  radiation 
through  conductors  in  contact. 

The  lens  of  a burning-glass  will  not  only  suffer 
the  free  passage  of  the  sun’s  rays,  but  will  condense 
and  concentrate  them,  until  the  focus  they  fall  upon 
bursts  into  flame;  meanwhile  the  lens  itself  will 
remain  j)crlcctly  cool.  Wonderful  experiments  of 
this  sort  have  been  pcrlbrmcd  with  even  a lens  of 
ice,  which  kindled  a lire  and  continued  unmelted. 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT. 


191 


You  can  find  nothing,  however,  in  religious  matters 
to  which  this  phenomenon  would  answer.  The 
torch,  not  the  burning-glass,  is  the  emblem  of  spir- 
itual life ; it  flames  while  it  illumines,  and  is  warmed 
as  it  sets  on  fire.  He  infiuences  others  most  who 
has  been  nearest  in  contact  with  Christ. 

Thus  the  Holy  Ghost  becomes  an  indweller. 
This  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  spirituality;  it 
signifies  the  presence  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  And 
there  surely  remains  no  ignorance  in  any  mind  as 
to  the  absolute  necessity  of  his  presence  in  order  to 
all  Christian  usefulness.  Without  him  we  can  do 
nothing.  “ If  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
he  is  none  of  his.”  No  religious  teacher  can  give 
more  than  he  gets,  nor  communicate  more  than  he 
possesses.  I will  not  deny  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
sometimes  works  immediately  upon  the  human 
heart;  what  I urge  now  is  merely  that  when  he 
acts  upon  another  heart  through  ours,  he  does  it  by 
entering  abidingly  into  ours.  And  ordinarily  he  in- 
fluences the  conscience  next  to  the  teacher’s,  by  mov- 
ing the  conscience  of  the  teacher.  Thus  the  efficient 
impulse  is  seen  to  grow  up  out  of  experience. 

Whichever  way  we  look,  then,  we  reach  the  same 


192 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT 


conclusion.  The  heart  lies  behind  the  hand  which 
proffers  religious  truth.  The  practical  importance 
of  this  principle  can  not  be  over-estimated.  Let 
us  now  search  for  points  of  contact  which  it  finds 
in  Sunday-schools. 

1.  We  learn  here  the  proper  use  to  make  of  the 
Scriptures.  All  religious  instruction  must  be  re- 
ceived experimentally.  Thus  the  Bible  becomes 
personal  in  every  one  of  its  utterances.  How  is  it 
now  ? “ The  vision  of  all  is  become  unto  you  as 

the  words  of  a book  that  is  sealed,  which  men  de- 
liver to  one  that  is  learned,  saying.  Bead  this,  I 
pray  thee;  and  he  saith,  I can  not,  for  it  is  sealed.' 
And  the  book  is  delivered  to  him  that  is  not 
learned,  saying.  Read  this,  I pray  thee ; and  he 
saith,  I am  not  learned.”  What  is  this  that  renders 
the  learned  and  the  unlearned  together  so  at  fault  ? 
Surely,  not  want  of  education,  but  want  of  ex- 
perience. 

It  may  be  worth  knowing,  as  a geographical  fact, 
that  there  is  no  water  in  the  Kidron  valley  save 
after  a shower;  it  may  be  important  to  learn,  as  a 
liistoi’ic  fact,  that  Capernaum  was  located  at  Khan 
Minyeh  ; but  this  is  not  what  is  going  to  save  souls. 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT. 


193 


We  need  to  read  the  Divine  word  with  a deeper 
sense  of  its  . spiritual  meaning.  We  must  transmute 
facts  into  principles ; we  must  incarnate  doctrine  in 
daily  .action ; we  must  embody  truth  in  life ; we 
must  reduce  vague  information  to  vital  and  avail- 
able help. 

2.  We  learn  to  distinguish  between  gift  and 
grace.  Mere  intellectual  gift  sometimes  even  hin- 
ders grace.  “Christ,”  said  Legh  Eichmond,  “may 
be  crucified  between  classics  and  mathematics.”  It 
is  not  our  want  of  aptitudes  for  doing  good  which 
stands  in  our  way,  half  so  much  as  it  is  our  want 
of  communion  with  God.  The  rule  is,  “ Oh  ! taste 
and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good !”  Out  of  this  ex- 
perimental acquaintance  with  truth  grows  our  power 
to  fitly  offer  it.  Only  thus  can  we  learn  to  recom- 
mend the  various  viands  on  the  table  of  the  Gospel 
feast.  Scholarship  becomes  a means  to  an  end.  It 
is  not  the  show  of  splendid  attainments,  but  the 
hidden  force  of  piety  underlying  them,  which 
affects  the  souls  we  hope  to  influence. 

The  Gospel  light  is  much  like  the  solar  light ; its 
beauty  is  not  its  efficiency.  You  may  divide  the 
sunbeam  into  seven  beautiful  colors,  and  not  one 
9 


194 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT. 


alone  nor  all  together  will  imprint  an  image  on  a 
daguerreotype  plate.  Just  outside  the  spectrum,  in 
the  dark,  there  is  one  entirely  invisible  ray,  called 
the  chemical  ray,  which  does  all  the  work.  No 
man  ever  saw  it,  no  man  ever  felt  it ; and  yet  this 
it  is  which  bleaches  and  blackens  a dull  surface 
into  figures  of  loveliness  and  life.  I care  not  how 
luminous  a man’s  personal  or  intellectual  qualities 
may  be ; if  he  lacks  amid  the  showy  beams  that  are 
shining  this  one  which  is  viewless — this  efficient 
but  inconspicuous  beam  of  spiritual  experience — all 
his  endeavors  will  surely  prove  inoperative  for  good. 

3.  We  learn  here  the  advantage  of  seasons  of 
discipline.  In  all  the  round  of  God’s  dealing  with 
his  children,  there  is  nothing  like  suffering  as  an 
educator.  It  deepens  and  widens  and  swells  the 
volume  of  Christian  experience,  so  that  the  simplest 
utterance  is  made  effective.  Ah ! how  fine  is  the 
promise  for  good  that  is  coming,  when  one  wearing 
habiliments  of  mourning  enters  a Sunday-school 
with  the  wish  for  a class  to  teach  ! “ He  that  goeth 

forth  and  wcepetli,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall 
doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his 
sheaves  with  him.” 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT. 


195 


Anything  that  loosens  the  hold  of  the  soul  on 
earthly  things,  and  just  shuts  it  up  to  God,  is  val- 
uable ; but,  as  a preparation  for  usefulness,  is  price- 
less. Any  man  expert  in  sea-life  could  have  said 
all  that  the  apostle  said  when  he  came  forth  to  quiet 
‘ the  sailors  in  the  midst  of  a shipwreck.  The  force 
of  his  counsel  lay  not  so  much  in  the  prudence  of 
what  he  suggested,  as  in  the  experience  which  was 
embodied  in  it — that  ‘‘  long  abstinence”  in  which  he 
had  received  his  vision.  One  mysterious  but  re- 
membered hour  there  was  which  gave  his  speech 
all  its  efficiency.  “ And  now  I exhort  you  to  be 
of  good  cheer;  for  there  shall  be  no  loss  of  any 
man’s  life  among  you,  but  of  the  ship.  For  there 
stood  by  me  this  night  the  angel  of  God,  whose  I 
am  and  whom  I serve,  saying.  Fear  not,  Paul,  thou 
must  be  brought  before  Caesar ; and  lo ! God  hath 
given  thee  all  them  that  sail  with  thee.  Wherefore, 
sirs,  be  of  good  cheer ; for  I believe  God,  that  it 
shall  be  even  as  it  was  told  me.”  It  is  just  this, 
jmt  this.,  which  is  the  element  of  power  in  any 
counsel.  The  angel  of  experience  is  sent  to  one, 
and  then  he  is  ready  to  say,  “ I believe  God !” 

4.  We  learn  the  secret  of  all  success,  and  the  ex- 


196 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT. 


planation  of  all  failure.  It  would  seem  at  first  sight 
that  truth  is  efficient  in  itself ; that  the  Grospel  sword 
has  an  inherent  thrust,  no  matter  who  wields  it ; and 
that  all  which  needs  to  be  done  is  to  merely  bring  it 
in  contact  with  human  necessity.  But  now  we  un- 
derstand that  first  it  must  pass  through  the  teacher’s 
experience  before  it  can  be  expected  to  vitally  influ- 
ence those  who  are  taught.  He  who  fails,  lacks  in 
experience ; he  who  grows  in  it,  succeeds ; that  is, 
he  who  teaches  another  teaches  also  himself 

When  the  plague  was  raging  in  Ireland,  the 
priests  gave  out  that  if  any  man  would  take  from 
his  own  fire  a piece  of  burning  peat  and  light  his 
neighbor’s  fire  with  it,  he  would  deliver  the  family 
from  an  attack  of  the  disease.  The  whole  region 
was  instantly  alive  with  brands  passing  to  and  fro. 
Oh ! if  superstition  could  do  this  much,  ought  not 
zeal  to  do  more  ? But  the  kindling  was  to  come 
from  one’s  own  hearthstone  then  ; and  the  kindling 
must  come  from  one’s  own  heart  now.  Calvin’s  seal- 
motto  was  a hand  holding  a heart  on  fire,  with  the 
legend,  “ I give  thee  all,  I keep  back  nothing !” 
What  wc  need  beyond  every  other  earthly  need  is, 
to  have  our  entire  level  of  Christian  experience 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT. 


197 


lifted.  We  are  too  busy  about  appliances  and  in- 
struments and  places  and  theories. 

My  fellow -workers,  suffer  me  one  word.  Since 
we  last  met  I have  been  at  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
This  hand  that  writes  to  you  has  plucked  olive 
leaves  from  the  old  tree  in  Gethsemane.  I have  a 
piece  of  a pyramid  that  I brought  away  from  Egypt. 
On  my  table  lies  a canteen  of  water  which  I dipped 
from  the  Jordan.  Alas  ! how  little  use  I can  make 
of  these  now ! I showed  them  to  our  Sunday- 
school  a few  weeks  ago,  and  that  is  about  all  I can 
do  with  them.  And  here  I am  back  on  the  old 
ground  again,  facing  my  task.  All  I have  to  really- 
work  with,  I find,  is  my  experience  of  the  Saviour’s 
love.  And  that  is  the  result,  not  of  my  journey, 
but  of  my  prayers  ! 

5.  We  learn  the  last  essential  of  preparation  for 
teaching.  W e must  have  the  presence  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  You  see  this  most  evidently  in  the  case  of 
the  apostle  who  penned  our  text.  “Thus,”  says 
Chrysostom,  “this  man,  three  cubits  high,  became 
tall  enough  to  touch  the  third  heavens.”  They 
called  him  Paullus,  because  he  was  little.  He 
had  a distemper  in  his  sight.  His  bodily  pres- 


198 


THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT, 


ence  was  said  to  be  weak,  and  bis  speech  con- 
temptible. 

But  no  man  ever  equaled  him  in  power  as  a relig- 
ious teacher.  He  held  up  before  the  world  the  most 
unwelcome  and  despised  truth  of  the  new  Gospel. 
He  turned  it  round  and  round  in  his  hand,  as  his 
own  soul  rose  to  a full  comprehension  of  its  magni- 
tude. He  bound  to  it  all  his  learning ; he  wreathed 
around  it  poetry  and  philosophy;  he. warmed  it 
with  all  his  fiery  ardor  of  temperament;  until  in 
the  supernatural  rush  of  his  eloquence  his  diminu- 
tive body  was  forgotten,  his  bent  form  was  straight- 
ened, his  weak  eyes  were  glowing,  his  hesitant 
utterance  became  fiuent ; and  Saul  of  Tarsus,  with 
all  his  passions  and  all  his  disabilities  and  all  his 
sins,  was  lost  in  the  inspiration  of  Paul,  the  ambas- 
sador of  the  living  God ! No  wonder  that  the 
simple-minded  multitude  of  Lystra  thought  he  was 
a deity,  and  brought  forth  garlands  and  oxen  to 
sacrifice,  vSaying  in  the  speech  of  Lycaonia,  “ The 
gods  be  come  down  to  us  in  the  likeness  of  men!” 

Oh  1 for  a baptism  of  the  Spirit  on  us  and  on 
our  eliildrcn,  that  should  fill  us  with  a like  expe- 
rience, and  insure  for  us  a Tike  suecess! 


©iwiston  of  ILabor. 

XIV. 


“ One  smceth  and  another  reapeth.''"' — John  iv.  37. 

N the  British  Museum  there  is  an  ancient 
lamp,  once  picked  up  at  Pompeii,  which 
was  refitted  and  refilled,  and  kept  lighted  in  order 
to  show  its  original  design.  Thus  what  was  only  a 
vile  fragment  of  bronze,  lying  unnoticed  amid  the 
ashes  and  sand  of  a buried  city,  is  rendered  useful 
again  by  the  mere  common-place  service  of  new  oil. 

A like  ingenuity  is  that  on  record  of  the  apostle 
Paul.  When  he  was  addressing  the  intellectual 
scholars  of  Athens,  he  took  an  old  line  of  poetry 
which  he  had  discovered  among  the  moral  verses  of 
their  dramatists,  dull  a^d  dead  already  as  an  utter- 
ance of  heathen  devoteeism — “ for  we  are  also  his 
offspring” — and,  pouring  into’  it  the  oil  of  inspira- 
tion, set  it  burning  again  for  all  future  time. 


200 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


Here  in  our  text  we  have  an  instance  of  higher 
authority  still.  Our  Divine  Saviour  selected  this 
little  proverb  as  a remnant  of  the  dry  wisdom  of 
by-gone  ages,  and  made  it  vital  once  more  as  a 
medium  of  instruction  by  the  fresh  spiritual  life 
he  put  in  it.  What  was  then  only  a sententious 
adage  became  sacred  as  an  avowed  principle  of  the 
Gospel. 

I.  Let  us  in  the  beginning  trace  out  the  analo- 
gies suggested  by  the  figure  thus  employed:  “ One 
soweth  and  another  reapeth.”  Passing  over  from 
nature  into  grace,  it  will  b§  well  if  we  carry  along 
with  us  a clear  perception  of  the  point  upon  which 
the  force  of  the  illustration  turns. 

1.  Sowing  and  reaping  require*  different  seasons 
for  their  performance.  “ There  is  a time  to  plant, 
and  a time  to  pluck  up  that  which  is  planted.” 
The  furrows  are  to  be  prepared  and  the  grain  cast 
in,  near  the  opening  of  the  year.  Then  the  hus- 
bandman has  to  wait  awhile.  The  mystery  of 
growth  begins,  at  once  inscrutable  and  independent 
It  may  be  that  spring  laborers  will  have  new  and 
distant  tasks  in  tlic  autumn.  One  of  the  most 
natural  occurrences,  as  things  run,  is,  that  other 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


201 


laborers  will  come  eventually  to  reap  wliat  these 
have  planted. 

2.  Sowing  and  reaping  need  different  skill  for 
their  performance.  Farmers’  boys  will  often  vie 
with  one  another  in  generous  contention  as  to  whose 
is  the  highest  prowess,  both  in  the  scattering  of 
most  grain  and  in  the  binding  of  most  sheaves,  be- 
tween any  given  dawn  and  sunset.  But  rarely  do 
the  same  excellences  meet  in  the  same  man.  The 
quick  step,  the  free  arm,  the  erect  form,  the  meas- 
ured motion,  which  make  the  sower  eminent  on 
the  emulous  record,  are  very  unlike  the  rapid  and 
agile  grasp,  the  bending  endurance,  the  strong 
stride,  that  insure  celerity  to  the  reaper.  The 
sinewy  hand  which  is  most  expert  at  throwing  the 
seed  may  not  be  the  hand  which  most  expeditiously 
wields  the  sickle. 

3.  Sowing  and  reaping  demand  a different  spirit  in 
their  performance.  Sowing  proceeds  on  a principle 
of  hope  and  faith ; reaping  proceeds  on  a principle 
of  reminiscence,  calculation  and  gratitude.  The 
sower  always  faces  the  blank  field,  and  leaves  the 
seed  disappearing  behind  him,  with  only  an  uncon- 
scious prophecy  in  his  own  mind  as  to  the  result. 

9* 


202 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


The  reaper  faces  the  actual  harvest,  and  cuts  his 
way  proudly  in  among  the  forests  of  ripened  grain, 
beating  time  with  his  sickle  to  his  song. 

4.  Sowing  and  reaping  have  a different  standard 
of  success  in  their  performances.  The  success  of 
sowing  is  that  the  seed  be  sowed  well ; the  success 
of  reaping  is  that  the  grain  be  reaped  well.  If  you 
will  discriminate  carefully,  you  will  observe  that 
both  of  these  two  forms  of  activity  are  to  be  esti- 
mated according  to  their  nature.  Neither  of  them 
has  any  right  to  reckon  upon  the  harvest  as  a cri- 
terion of  fidelity.  For  the  harvest  depends  on 
growth,  the  secret  of  which  is  beyond  any  labor- 
er’s province.  Men  are  hired  to  sow  and  reap,  not 
to  concern  themselves  about  the  yield.  The  respon- 
sibility of  one  ends  when  the  corn  is  fitly  in  the 
ground,  and  of  the  other  when  the  sheaves  are 
fully  in  the  garner.  They  who  plant  only  put  in 
the  ‘‘bare  grain;”  God  giveth  it  the  “body  that 
shall  be,”  as  it  plcaseth  him. 

JI.  ^Ihirning  this  figure  now  into  the  line  of  relig- 
ious instruction,  let  us  iinpiire,  in  the  second 
j)lace,  for  the  doctrine  of  the  })roverb. 

1.  Consider  it  as  a settled  fact,  that  for  every 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


203 


reaping  there  has  heen  a seed-sowing.  The  field  is 
the  world ; the  harvest  is  one  of  souls.  “ To*every 
thing  there  is  a season,  and  a time  to  every  pur- 
pose under  the  sun.”  There  are  spiritual  processes, 
which,  like  the  natural,  demand  duration,  and  simply 
retire  within  the  secrecy  of  their  own  economy. 
Some  one  must  begin  them,  of  course,  merely 
meeting  first  .conditions.  After  that  they  need  no 
help,  and  will  suffer  no  interference.  Nothing  can 
hurry  them.  They  must  be  allowed  to  run  their 
course.  The  ministrations  which  are  efficient  in 
their  advancement  are  limited,  and  cannot  avail  at 
all  beyond  a certain  fixed,  line.  Hence  it  often 
happens  that  when  any  early  instrument  Grod  has 
honored  in  the  using  has  dropped  from  his  hand, 
the  link  of  association  is  lost;  and  before  the 
spiritual  harvest  arrives  the  one  who  sowed  the 
seed  is  humanly  forgotten.  Nevertheless,  let  us  re- 
member that  never  was  a soul  born  again  in  this 
world  but  that  somebody  prayed  for  it,  somebody 
labored  for  it,  somebody  far  back,  in  the  faith  of  a 
hopeful  husbandman,  planted  the  germ  of  life,  cov- 
ered it  carefully,  and  perhaps  watered  it  more  than 
once  thereafter  with  tears. 


204 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


2.  Consider  it  likewise  as  a settled  fact,  that  for 
every  .seed-sowing  there  will  he  a reaping.  The  old 
covenant  of  nature  still  abides  to  keep  farmers 
alive.  “ While  the  earth  remaineth,  seed-time  and 
harvest,  and  cold  and  heat,  and  summer  and  win- 
ter, and  day  and  night,  shall  not  cease.”  How  we 
do  rest  in  that ! 

“ How  awful  is  the  thought  of  the  wonders  underground, 

Of  the  mystic  changes  wrought  in  the  silent,  dark  profound  I 
How  each  thing  is  upward  tending,  by  necessity  decreed, 

And  the  world’s  support  depending  on  the  shooting  of  a seed !” 

Well  for  us  is  it  that  there  is  a covenant  of  grace 
just  as  settled  as  this.  * We  need  to  know  that,  in 
due  season,  we.  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not.  Other- 
wise courage  fails,  and  all  enterprise  ends.  So  the 
explicit  engagement  has  been  made:  “For  as  the 
rain  cometh  down,  and  the  snow  from  heaven,  and 
returneth  not  thither,  but  watereth  the  earth,  and 
maketh  it  bring  forth  and  bud,  that  it  may  give 
seed  to  the  sower  and  bread  to  the  eater : so  shall 
iny  word  be  that  goeth  out  of  my  mouth ; it  shall 
not  return  unto  me  void,  but  it  shall  accomplish 
that  whicli  I'  please,  and  it  shall  prosper  in  the 
thing  whereto  I sent  it.” 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


205 


3.  Consider  it  as  another  settled  fact,  that  for 
every  labor  there  must  he  a laborer.  God  has  been 
pleased  to  select  men,  women,  and  even  little  chil- 
dren for  his  fellow- workers  under  the  plan  of  re- 
demption. He  retains  just  enough  of  hold  upon 
all  the  processes  of  life  and  grace  to  show  us  how 
deep  is  the  mystery  attending  the  birth  of  any  re- 
newed soul,  and  how  absolutely  impotent  we  are 
for  any  endeavor  beyond  that  which  is  merely  ex- 
trinsic and  conditional.'  We  cannot  even  predict 
results,  much  less  produce  them.  A narrow  circle 
of  appliances  and  instruments  has  been  left  for  our 
employment.  Curious,  even  as  a study,  is  that 
kind  of  limited  cooperation  which  God  has  per- 
mitted. The  grain  is  God’s,  the  germ  in  the  grain 
is  God  s,  the  life  in  the  germ  is  God’s,  the  growth 
of  the  life  is  God’s ; but  the  soil  is  man’s,  the 
plow  is  man’s,  dominion  over  the  beasts  is  man’s, 
and  the  sickle  is  man’s.  Certain  actualities  of  fact, 
which  we  term  means  of  grace,  are  put  within  our 
reach  for  ourselves  and  others ; that  is  all.  Hence 
every  labor  calls  for  a laborer.  It  will  not  do  for 
us  all  to  stand  back,  consulting  taste  and  preference 
and  convenience.  We  are  servants  ; there  is  only 


206 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR, 


one  Master.  Harvesting  is  most  welcome  while 
weak  human  nature  is  what  it  is ; but  then  seed- 
sowing must  be  done.  He  is  the  best  servant  who 
just  puts  his  hand  to  what  is  nearest. 

4.  Consider  it  also  as  a settled  fact,  that  for  every 
laborer  there  is  a labor.  And  the  sooner  we  are  all 
at  our  appointed  work  the  better.  These  are  no 
times  for  any  one  to  stand  in  the  market-place  all 
the  day  idle.  The  good  tidings  are  to  be  preached 
to  the  meek.  The  broken-hearted  are  to  be  bound 
up.  Liberty  remains-  to  be  proclaimed  to  the  cap- 
tives, and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that 
are  in  bonds.  The  mourning  need  to  be  comforted. 
The  old  wastes  are  to  be  builded  up,  the  desolations 
of  many  generations  are  to  be  repaired.  There  is  d 
place , then,  for  every  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
He  himself  gave  the  motto  for  the  church : “ M37' 
Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I work.”  In  the  in- 
finite varieties  of  labor,  surely  every  one  might 
find  his  place.  The  call  does  not  make  any  dis- 
crimination ; it  says  only,  “ Son,  go  work  to-day,  in 
my  vincyai'd.”  Fvery  spirit  of  calculation  is  ex- 
cluded and  rebuked.  “Why  stand  ye  gazing  up 
inU)  heaven  ?”  'I'hc  fields  are  already  white  to  har- 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


207 


vest.  “ He  that  observeth  the  wind  shall  not  sow ; 
and  he  that  regardeth  the  clouds  shall  not  reap.” 
Clouds  and  winds  are  God’s ; we  have  nothing  to 
do  with^them ; the  implements  we  are  to  use  are 
the  plow  and  sickle. 

III.  All  this  is  taught  under  the  figure  here  em- 
ployed by  our  Lord.  But  lest  you  should  think 
the  interpretation  has  been  forced,  let  us  now,  in 
the  third  place,  examine  the  philosophy  of  this 
form  of  arrangement.  Why  not  let  every  man 
have  one  field,  little  or  large,  and  do  his  own  soW' 
ing,  and  rejoice  in  his  own  harvests? 

Perhaps  it  is  never  wise  for  us  to  attempt  to  pro- 
nounce upon  the  primal  design  of  the  Almighty  in 
any  of  his  foims  of  arrangement;  but  from  an  after 
study  of  the  exquisite  adaptations  of  means  to 
ends,  we  may  often  infer  proximately  what  it 
might  have  been.  At  any  rate,  there  are  discover- 
able these  singular  advantages  belonging  -to  the 
plan  now  under  our  eye : it  holds  before  our  minds 
a continuous  and  splendid  illustration  of  God’s  sov- 
ereignty; it  serves  to  evoke  and  educe  various 
gifts,  both  of  intellect  and  heart;  it  makes  provi- 
sion for  meeting  the  extreme  diversities  found 


208 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


among  the  differing  classes  of  men ; it  most  effectu- 
ally disciplines  personal  religious  experience  for  its 
good ; and  it  engenders  the  new  grace  of  charity  in 
our  estimates  of  others. 

1.  “ One  soweth  and  another  reapeih,”  in  order 
to  illustrate  the  divine  sovereignty.  “I  know  that 
whatsoever  God  doeth,  it  shall  be  forever;  noth- 
ing can  be  put  to  it,  nor  anything  taken  from  it : 
and  God  doeth  it  that  men  should  fear  before  him.” 
The  inveterate  tendency  of  human  pride  is  to  exalt 
its  own  efficiency  under  every  increment  of  success. 
Aiid  this  is  even  more  especially  true  in  those  cases 
when  it  has  a secret  conviction  that  the  power  it 
has  wielded  is  not  its  own.  That  was  the  most 
^supercilious  steward  in  Scriptural  history,  who, 
having  made  a great  show  by  lending  his  lord’s 
money,  as  if  it  were  his  own,  now,  even  when  he 
had  lost  the  stewardship  by  reason  of  peculation 
discovered,  made  a still  greater  show  in  attempting 
to  collect  it.  In  tlie  world  around  us,  it  is  the 
agents  of  ricli  people  who  become  most  violent  and 
most  purse-proud.  An  ill-concealed  consciousness 
of  imposture  in  all  their  attempts  at  dignity  ren- 
ders them  more  maliciously  vain.  Observe,  then. 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


209 


how  carefully  the  all-wise  Master,  in  this  moral 
field,  has  ordered  it  that  no  laborer,  whom  he  em- 
ploys, shall  forget  his  place.  He  is  not  allowed  to 
remain  long  enough  at  one  work  to  begin  to  usurp 
control  in  it.  The  ownership  in  any  harvest  can 
not  vest  in  the  sower,  for  he  never  beholds  it ; nor 
in  the  reaper,  for  he  finds  it  white  when  he  comes. 
Thus  the  glory  of  every  thing  belongs  to  God,  and 
God  receives  it.  He  makes  it  “beautiful  in  his 
time.” 

2.  “ One  soweth  and  another  reapeth,”  in  order 
to  evoke  human  gifts.  Men  are  not  alike  either  in 
ingenuity  or  perseverance.  They  need  many  forms 
of  labor  in  the  development  of  both  the  intellect 
and  the  heart.  Sanguine  temperaments  best  begin 
great  undertakings  in  the  world’s  history;  quiet 
temperaments  best  bring  them  to  issue.  Men  with 
strong  personality  start  out  with  every  vast  enter- 
prise ; but  men  with  deep  humility  come  in  with 
the  sheaves  of  success.  In  each  moral  purpose  the 
mind  of  a Christian  worker  skills  itself  for  effec- 
tiveness according  to  its  prevailing  gift.  Thus 
each  is  enabled  to  stand  on  a better  vantage-ground 
by  entering  into  the  labors  of  those  who  preceded 


210 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


him.  Finely  illustrated  is  all  this  kind  of  division 
of  labor  in  the  discoveries  of  science.  To  find  a 
grand  principle  of  nature  is  one  thing ; to  apply  it 
is  quite  another.  So  the  most  meritorious  achieve- 
ments have  oftentimes  to  distribute  the  honors 
widely.  Gioja  invented  the  compass ; Columbus 
follovjed  it  over  the  sea.  Franklin  linked  light- 
ning to  electricity;  Morse  linked'  electricity  to 
thought  And  generally  it  may  be  said  that  all 
these  conspicuous  successes  have  been  preceded  by 
a great  unreckoned,  unhistoric,  inconspicuous  mass 
of  minor  successes,  each  opening  the  path  toward 
the  final  triumph.  Thus  every  man  becomes  more 
useful  by  a concentration  of  his  genius,  and  God 
gets  the  better  glory. 

3.  “ One  soweth  and  another  reapeth,”  in  order 
to  meet  the  diverse  dispositions  of  men.  AVe  must 
never  forget  tliat  the  grand  purpose  of  the  Gospel 
is  the  conversion  of  souls.  If  this  is  not  gained, 
there  never  is  any  real  advance.  And  so  subtle 
arc  tlie  intricacies  of  the  human  heart  that  ingenui- 
ties of  a])j)i*oacli  to  it  are  in  liigli  demand  in  the 
cl  lurches.  Now,  it  matters  notliing  liow  large  is 
the  work  to  be  done  c)r  liow  small  ; difierent  dispo- 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


211 


sitions  require  difierent  methods  of  dealing,  and 
where  one  fails  another  may  succeed.  Take  any 
great  work:  in  the  Eeformation  there  were  the 
bold-faced  ecclesiastics  to  need  the  thunder  of  Mar- 
tin Luther’s  voice,  and  then  there  were  timid  com- 
mon people  to  need  the  quieter  accents  of  Melanch- 
thon’s.  At  one  time  the  movement  went  on  more 
safely  by  far  because  Luther  was  shut  up  in  Wart- 
burg  Castle.  So  the  trumpet  of  J ohn  Knox  was 
as  helpful  as  the  pen  of  Jghn  Calvin ; but  neither 
could  have  been  spared.  Take  any  small  work: 
here  is  an  unsuccessful  Sabbath-school  teacher  toil- 
ing almost  hopelessly  over  a rude  boy  in  the  class ; 
another  person  comes,  and  the  spell  of  resistance  is 
dissolved.  The  one  teacher  is  no  better  than  the 
other,  only  the  one  is  unlike  the  other.  God  uses 
the  mere  personal  characteristics  of  both  at  his  will. 

4.  “One  soweth  and  another  reapeth,”  in  order 
to  discipline  religious  experience.  You  will  never 
understand  why  Elisha  sent  Naaman  to  bathe 
seven  times  in  the  Jordan  with  a view  to  his  cure, 
unless  you  take  into  the  account  the  interior  life 
of  the  man.  Each  time  previous  to  the  seventh  he 
would  be  likely  to  say  as  he  came  up  from  the 


212 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR, 


stream — still  no  better,  no  better.  But  with  every 
repetition  of  an  act  of  duty  done,  not  because  of 
anticipated  reward,  but  because  it  was  duty,  there 
would  come  an  unconscious  increment  of  faith. 
His  will  would  be  breaking,  his  self-confidence 
would  be  on  the  wane,  and  by  the  time  the  final 
obedience  was  reached  he  would  be  in  a state  of 
mind  fit  to  be  healed.  So  of  the  company  which 
at  Joshua’s  command  marched  around  Jericho  only 
blowing  rams’  horns  for  an  entire  week.  With 
every  day’s  repetition  they  would  think  quietly  of. 
the  duty  conscientiously  performed,  their  faith 
deepening,  their  anticipation  quickening,  mean- 
while. How  this  is  really  the  law  of  Christian 
advancement.  What  Grod  once  said  to  Israel,  he 
now  says  to  each  one  of  us : “I  knew  that  thou  art 
obstinate,  and  thy  neck  is  an  iron  sinew,  and  thy 
brow  brass.”  The  grand  purpose  of  all  this  life  is 
just  to  bend  that  iron  and  soften  that  brass.  Hu- 
man will  needs  to  be  broken  by  repeated  disap- 
pointment before  it  becomes  meet  to  receive  suc- 
cess. It  matters  little  how  painfully  the  discipline 
is  continued,  if  only  at  last  the  heart  will  be  able 
to  say  with  the  heroic  Paul:  “By  the  grace  of 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


213 


God  I am  what  I am,  and  his  grace  which  was 
bestowed  upon  me  was  not  in  vain ; but  I labored 
more  abundantly  than  they  all ; yet  not  but  the 
grace  of  God  which  was  with  me.” 

5.  “ One  soweth  and  another  reapeth,”  in  order 
to  teach  us  charity.  To  one  properly  educated  in 
spiritual  and  moral  mechanics,  there  will  always 
be  significance  in  even  the  slightest  lever  and  pin- 
ion and  pin,  as  well  as  in  the  massive  wheels  within 
wheels.  You  will  remember  the  absurd  disap- 
pointment of  the  laborers,  who  jealously  demanded 
more  than  their  penny  because  the  same  was 
given  to  those  who  came  into  the  vineyard  at  the 
eleventh  hour.  There  must  be  no  envy  among  the 
followers  of  Christ.  Fine,  high  challenge  is  that 
which  the  apostle  uttered,  when  some  weak-minded 
converts  were  forming  parties  in  Corinth:  “Who 
then  is  Paul,  and  who  is  Apollos,  but  ministers  by 
whom  ye  believed,  even  as  the  Lord  gave  to  every 
man  ? I have  planted,  Apollos  watered ; but  God 
gave  the  increase.  So  then  neither  is  he  that 
planteth  any  thing,  neither  he  that  watereth ; but 
God  that  giveth  the  increase.”  No  man  is  so  great 
in  this  world  as  to  be  greater  than  any  other  man, 


214 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


provided  both  of  them  are  the  servants  of  God. 
Samuel  swayed  rule  in  Israel,  but  the  day  was  when 
the  forgotten  Hannah  made  him  a little  coat  every 
year.  The  widow  of  Sarepta,  with  her  ban*el  of 
inexhaustible  meal,  her  cruse  of  unfailing  oil,  and 
her  loft  where  he  abode,  had  very  much  to  do  with 
that  splendid  triumph  of  Elijah  on  the  summit  of 
Carmel.  Andrew  had  a share  in  the  converts  at 
Pentecost,  for  he  led  Simon  Peter  to  Jesus.  Do 
you  know  who  Epenetus  was  ? Did  you  ever  hear 
of  Adronicus  and  Julia?  Yet  please  go  and  read 
the  last  chapter  of  Paul’s  Epistle*to  the  Romans, 
to  see  how  kindly  he  spoke  of  these  and  others ; 
they  were  all  his  “ workfellows”  and  his  ‘‘kins- 
men.” 

IV.  In  making  practical  application  of  these 
thoughts,  there  will  be  danger  of  my  becoming 
prolix.  The  reach  they  possess  is  very  extensive ; 
they  serve  to  correct  many  mistakes.  But  I will 
delay  your  minds  with  the  mere  mention  of  only  a 
few  lessons. 

1.  Here  you  discover  the  true  dignity  of  faithful- 
ness.  Success  is  the  world’s  criterion  of  merit; 
fidelity  is  God’s,  ^fhc  reward  of  being  “faithful 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


215 


over  a few  things”  is  just  the  same  as  being  “faith- 
ful over  many  things ; for  the  emphasis  falls  upon 
the  same  word ; it  is  the  “ faithful”  who  will  enter 
into  the  joy  of  their  Lord. 

2.  Here  you  see  what  it  is  to  be  a soldier  of  the 
cross.  I fall  to  thinking  sometimes  in  the  night  of 
the  brave  boys  that  went  forth  five  years  ago  from 
many  of  our  Sunday-school  classes,  and  laid  them- 
selves down  to  die  in  the  Wilderness  and  at  Grettys- 
burg.  There  in  their  graves  they  lie,  and  we  are 
entering  into  their  labors  to-day  in  the  peace  they 
conquered.  How  little  heroism  for  God  there  is  in 
this  world  now ! Put  it  to  your  own  soul — -how 
would  you  like  it  if  you  were  bidden  to  go  labor 
for  a grand  cause,  die  only  in  the  faith  of  victory, 
“ but  without  the  sight”  ? 

3.  Here  you  learn  how  imperatively  every  one  is 
urged  to  enter  his  field  of  duty.  Alas  for  the  force 
which  is  simply  wasted  in  trying  to  find  one’s  work  ! 
If  he  is  not  good  at  sowing,  let  him  break  up 
fallow  ground ; if  he  cannot  plow,  let  him  go  and 
reap.  Do  something  somewhere  immediately.  If 
you  can  not  plant  heavy  theology  like  Jonathan 
Edwards,  be  willing  to  sow  light  exhortations  like 


216 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


Harlan  Page.  If  you  cannot  preach  like  White- 
field,  go  read  the  Bible  at  a bedside,  and  then  write 
“ The  Victory  Won.” 

4.  Here  you  perceive  the  folly  of  being  disheart- 
ened at  delay.  God  sometimes  takes  natural 
methods  of  removing  obs,tacles  even  when  they 
would  appear  most  dilatory.  Daniel  once  became 
very  much  troubled  under  the  impression  that  his 
prayer  had  not  been  answered.  The  angel  Gabriel 
was  sent  to  him  to  say  that  the  petition  was  heard 
as  usual,  and  the  command  had  gone  forth  for  its 
reply,  but  that  the  prince  of  the  kingdom  of  Persia 
had  withstood  the  Almighty  twenty-one  days.  No 
man  ought  to  get  impatient  in  three  weeks.  He 
can  bear  as  long  as  God  does.  Philip  the  Second 
used  to  say,  ''''  Time  and  / will  work  wonders.” 

5.  Here  you  discover,  on  the  other  hand,  how 
weak  is  all  undue  elation  at  success.  Those  who 
went  before  us  labored,  and  we  entered  into  their 
labors.  The  most  prosperous  ministry  is  not  always 
the  most  toilsome,  the  most  self-sacrificing,  or  the 
most  meritorious.  Philip  baptized  the  eunuch  in 
the  desert,  and  that  introduced  the  Gospel  into 
Africa.  But  the  sermon  which  converted  the 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 


217 


eunuch  was  one  preached  seven  hundred  years  be- 
fore Philip  was  born,  by  the  prophet  Isaiah.  And 
Isaiah  was  so  much  discouraged  that  he  said  no  one 
had  believed  his  report.  Grod  not  unfrequently 
sends  a man  to  reap  that  whereon  he  bestowed  no 
labor.  Sometimes  a teacher  reports  a name  with 
great  joy;  a new  soul  has  been  added  to -the  re- 
deemed. But  now,  if  influences  w^ere  searched  out, 
it  might  be  found  that  the  prayers  of  a dead  mother 
or  the  counsels  of  a distant  father  had  made  the 
way  easy. 

6.  Here,  then,  you  begin  to  imagine  what  sur- 
prises there  will  be  at  the  final  ingathering.  As 
the  great  day  draws  nearer,  events  will  hurry  some- 
what. “ Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that 
the  plowman  shall  overtake  the  reaper,  and  the 
treader  of  grapes  him  that  soweth  seed.”  Then  we 
shall  kuow  how  intimately  we  have  labored  together. 
He  that  reapeth  shall  then  receive  his- wages,  and 
gather  fruit  unto  life  eternal ; ‘‘  that  both  he  that 
soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  may  rejoice  together.” 
When  the  unwritten  history  shall  be  read,  and  not 
before.,  I suppose  the  names  of  the  heroes  and  the 
heroines  will  appear.  They  shall  not  build  and 
10 


218 


DIVISION  OF  LABOR, 


anotlier  inhabit ; they  shall  not  plant  and  another 
eat ; for  as  the  days  of  a tree  are  the  days  of  my 
people,  and  mine  elect  shall,  long  enjoy  the  work 
of  their  hands.” 


XV. 

A Bil)(e-(C{ass  ILesson. 

^The  TransJiguraUon  of  our  Saviour.) — Luke  ix.  28-36. 

HIS  study  is  unlike  those  which  have  pre- 
ceded it,  in  that  it  consists  of  a report  of 
an  actual  recitation  in  the  midst  of  a public  con- 
vention held  in  New  York  City,  in  the  spring  of 
1867.  The  audience  was  densely  crowded  in  the 
body  and  galleries  of  the  church.  Many  clergymen 
were  present,  as  well  as  a large  number  of  our  most 
faithful  and  intelligent  Sunday-school  workers.  It 
had  been  expected  that  a group  of  young  men 
would  be  present  who  might  act  their  part  in  the 
exercise  of  question  and  answer ; but^  this  inadver- 
tently failed.  The  Institute  composed  the  class. 
The  place  of  the  lesson  had  been  announced  the 
evening  before,  and  the  teachers  requested  to  bring 
their  Bibles  with  them. 


220 


A BIBLE-CLASS  LESS  OK 


The  teacher  prefaced  the  lesson  by  a word  of 
greeting  to  those  who  were  engaged  in  the  common 
cause  of  instructing  the  young  out  of  the  Word  of 
God;  He  recognized  but  few  of  the  many  hun- 
dreds of  teachem  before  him,  but  hoped  that  none 
would  hesitate  to  asl£  and  to  answer  any  questions 
bearing  upon  the  lesson.  If  he  should  call  upon 
personal  friends,  whom  he  v\ras  glad  to  greet  around 
him,  and  they  should  not  be  ready  with  an  answer, 
he  hoped  that  they,  at  least,  would  be  bold  enough 
to  say,  “I  do  not  know,”  with  all  calmness  and 
equanimity, — which  are  among  the  first  requisites 
of  good  Sunday-school  teachers. 

The  teacher  held  in  his  hand  a little  book  en- 
titled “Eobinson’s  Harmony,”  which  he  found 
most  convenient  for  use  in  referring  to  the  various 
passages. 

Teacher.  May  I ask  my  good  brother  P to 

read  the  28th  verse? 

P-^ reads  clearly  and  distinctly,  “ And  it 

came  to  pass  about  an  eight  days  after  these  say- 
ings, he  took  Peter  and  John  and  James  and  went 
up  into  a mcmntain  to  pray.”  . 

Teacher.  W e have  this  narrafive  repeated  in  two 


A CLASS  LESS  OK 


221 


others  of  the  evangelists,  Matthew  and  Mark.  Not 
much  addition  is  made  to  it  in  either,  and  only  an 
occasional  word  is  thrown  in  hj  Mark,  in  his  pe- 
cnliarly  graphic  style.  Will  my  good  brother 

A S tell  me  what  “ sayings”  Luke  refers 

to — After  these  sayings  ?” 

S . The  teachings  of  our  Saviour  in  refer- 

ence to  the  true  spirit  of  the  Christian  life. 

Teacher.  Just  before  that  our  Saviour  had  re- 
ceived a rebuke.  Who  administered  it  ? Is  there 
a record  in  the  Bible  of  any  man  who  dared  to 
administer  a rebuke  to  Christ  ? 

S . Simon  Peter. 

Teacher.  Yes.  Our  Saviour  told  him  that  he 
was  to  die  on  the  cross.  Simon  Peter  resisted  the 
very  thought,  and  would  have  had  him  retreat 
from  the  atonement,  if  he  could  thereby  have  saved 
his  life.  He  received  for  this  the  most  stinging 
rebuke  that  ever  man  received — “ Get  thee  behind 
me,  Satan  !”  And  it  was  because  our  Saviour  saw 
that  the  disciples  were  unable  to  bear  that  great 
truth  of  his  suffering  that  this  scene  of  the  trans- 
figuration seems  tp  have  been  instituted  as  a part 
of  his  history.  It  was  after  these  vsayings,”  that 


222 


A BIBLE- GLASS  LESS  OK 


“it  came  to  pass.”  How  long  after,  brother 
W ? 

R W- . “ About  an  eight  days.” 

Teacher,  Is  any  other  time  mentioned  by  the 
other  evangelists  ? 

R W’ . Matthew  and  Mark  call  it  six 

days,  perhaps  including  part  of  the  other  two, 
making  the  eight. 

Teacher,  There  are  two  ways  of  reconciling  the 
apparent  difference.  Luke  says  “about  an  eight 
days.”  Matthew  and  Mark,  “six  days.”  Well,  six 
is  “ about”  eight,  and  eight  is  “ about”  six.  That 
is  Matthew  Henry’s  way  of  disposing  of  such  diffi- 
culties. He  says,  for  instance,  of  the  two  blind 
men,  “if  there  were  two,  there  was  certainly  one.” 
So  if  eight,  there  were  certainly  six  days  of  interval 
between  the  events  spoken  of  A better  way  is 

that  suggested  by  brother  W , to  suppose  that 

Luke,  in  giving  this  account,  was  rather  more  par- 
ticular than  the  others,  and  counted  as  one  the  day 
upon  which  they  started,  and  also  the  day  follow- 
ing the  evening  whicli  was  celebrated  by  this  great 
appearance  of  the  transfiguration,  and  joins  them 
together,  making  up  the  eight  Perhaps  in  this 


A BIBLi:- CLASS  LESSOJST. 


223 


eight  days  there  is  an  allusion  to  the  seven-fold 
division  of  time.  Dr.  Alexander  in  his  note  makes 
the  remark  that  very  possibly  it  is  the  common 
indefinite  form  of  speaking — customary  in  the 
French  and  German  language  now,  and  then  per- 
haps in  familiar  Greek — “about  a week,”  and  it 
may  have  been  that  this  took  place  upon  what  was 
afterwards  the  Christian  Sabbath. 

The  narrative  tells  us  that  Jesus  had  companions 

with  him.  Will  the  Eev.  Mr.  T tell  us  who 

they  were  ? 

T “ Peter  and  John  and  James.” 

Teacher.  Why  these  three  ? 

T . They  were  the  three  nearest  to  him,  and 

to  whom  he  wished  to  communicate  the  particular 
doctrine  represented  in  the  transfiguration. 

Teacher.  Do  you  remember  any  other  instances  ? 

T . In  the  Gethsemane  sorrow,  and  at  the 

raising  of  Jairus’s  daughter. 

Teacher.  Yes;  Peter  the  most  loving,  John  the 
most  beloved,  and  James,  next  to  the  most  loving 
the  one  that  loved  most,  and  next  to  the  one  be- 
loved the  most  loved.  These  three  seem  to  ha^e 
been  chosen  as  the  most  intimate  companions  of 


224 


A BIBLE- CLASS  LESSOK 


Christ,  the  chosen  three  out  of  the  chosen  twelve. 
These  Jesus  takes' with  him  to  the  little  prayer- 
meeting  w^hich  he  held  on  the  mountain.  For 
Luke  tells  us  that  he  went  up  into  the  mountain  to 
pray,  > And  this  is  usually  brought,  in  to  decide  a 
question  that  seems  to  be  unsettled  in  some  minds. 
Will  the  Eev.  Mr.  H tell  us  whether  the  trans- 

figuration took  place  in  the  night  time  or  in  the 
day  time  ? 

H.  I suppose  it  was  in  the  night. 

Teacher,  Can  any  one  give  a reason  for  this  sup- 
position that  it  was  in  the  night  time  ? 

P . It  would  make  the  scene  more  brilliant 

■ and  observable. 

Teacher,  That  was  a possible  reason.  It  would 
be  more  conspicuous.  Any  other  ? 

A S . The  weariness  of  the  disciples,  for 

we  are  told  that  they  were  “heavy  with  sleep.” 

Teacher,  We  have,  then,  two  reasons.  A third  is 
suggested,  which  is  found  in  the  37th  verse.  They 
did  not  come  from  the  mountain  till  “the  next 
day.”  Where  did  the  transfiguration  take  place? 

^ R -.  On  Mount  Ilermon  ; they  were  at  that 

time  in  tliat  part  of  the  country. 


' BIBLE-CLASS  LESS  OK  225 

P . On  Little  Hermon,  near  Mount  Tabor. 

Mount  Hermon  was  ten  tbousand  feet  liigli,  und 
covered  with  snov/.  It  does  not  seem  probable 
that  they  would  go  to  such  a place  for  such  a 
meeting.  Little  Hermon,  one  of  the  spurs  of  Mount 
Tabor,  was  but  a thousand  feet  high. 

Teacher.  Where  does  tradition  locate  it  ? 

Scholar.  On  Mount  Tabor. 

Teacher.  Yes.  But  the  tradition  only  dates  back 
to  the  fourth  century.  Before  that  time  nothing 
had  been  said  of  Tabor  as  the  scene  of  the  transfig- 
uration. Afterwards  it  was  fixed  as  the  spot,  and 
tradition  -carried  the  opinion  down  the  centuries. 
Churches  were  erected  on  the  mount,  with  a view 
to  commemorating  the  scene.  The  lateness  of  the 
tradition  is  an  argument  against  Mount  Tabor. 
What  about  the  distance  of  Hermon?  Where 
were  the  disciples  during  the  week?  Could  they 
not  have  traveled  fifty  miles  to  the  neighborhood 
of  Heiunon,  which  was  in  northern  Galilee,  near 
Caesarea  Philippi  ? 

W . They  might  have  done  so,  but  it 

seems  more  probable  that  they  stayed  where  they 


were. 


10* 


22(3 


A IJ/BLF- CLASS  LESS  OK' 


Teacher,  Tradition  lias  confounded  tlie  two  Her* 
raons.  Great  Hermon  was  near  Caesarea  Philippi, 
Little  Hermon  was  near  Tabor,  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  sea  of  Galilee,  and  near  Tiberias.  Another  ob- 
jection to  Tabor,  besides  the  tradition,  is  that  its 
top  was  occupied  by  a fortified  city,  or  more  prob- 
ably a fortified  Roman  rampart,  and  there  would 
not  be  room  for  such  a scene.  But  surely  there 
would  be  room  enough  for  a modest  company  like 
this  somewhere  on  the  slope,  just  for  four  men  to 
stand : there  is  no  hint  that  any  one  else  saw  the 
splendor.  And  then  some  have  argued  for  Her- 
mon, that  the  characteristic  note  thrown  in  by 
Mark,  that  our  Saviour’s  raiment  was  “white  as 
snow,”  was  suggested  by  the  snow  around  them, 
on  riermon’s  sides.  Singularly  enough,  the  best 
versions  omit  that  comparison.  A large  number 
of  learned  commentators  argue  on  both  sides.  It 
may  be  remarked,  tliat  all  the  arguments  in  favor 
of  Mount  Ilormon  rest  simply  as  against  Mount 
'I’abor.  ''riierc  is  no  argument  positively  for  Her- 
mon ; only  conjecture.  But  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  whole  thing  has  been  tak(m  out  of  its  relative 
iinportruu'c ; nnd  it  is  a curious  fact  that  the  dis- 


A BIBLE-CLASS  LESSON. 


227 


cussions  of  the  traditional  location,  &c.,  have  often 
commanded  more  interest  and  attention  than  the 
fact  of  the  transfiguration  itself  We  may  rest  in 
the  confidence  that  the  mountain  was  accessible, 
and  that  it  was  a good  place  for  the  scene  which 
was  enacted  upon  it. 

“ And  he  took  Peter  and  John  and  James, 

and  went  up  into  a mountain  to  pray.  And  as  he 
prayed,  the  fashion  of  his  countenance  was  altered, 
and  his  raiment  was  white  and  glistering.” 

Teacher,  How  forcibly  does  this  suggest  to  us 
the  lesson  that  comes  out  through  all  our  Christian 
experience,  as  to  the  disclosures  of  Christ  obtained 
in  the  moment  of  prayer  ! I think  we  may  get  a 
greater  consciousness  of  the  real  force  of  the  story 
of  the  transfiguration,  if  we  will  accept  the  little 
conceit  of  considering  it  as  a union  prayer-meeting — 
the  church  on  earth  meeting  the  church  in  heaven, 
with  Christ  in  the  midst  of  them  ! We  shall  find 
what  they  talked  about  by-and-by.  Here  we  have 
the  living  and  the  dead  coming  together,  with  only 
the  vail  of  flesh  between  them,  in  the  presence 
of  the  once  crucified  but  now  risen  and  glorified 
Christ  Noble  testimony  to  the  value  and  power 


228 


A BIBLE- GLASS  LESSON. 


of  the  disclosures  made  in  prayer,  to  Christ’s  dis- 
ciples ! 

Teacher.  Will  you  tell  me,  Mr.  J , what  is 

meant  by  the  word  “fashion,”  in  the  text,  “The 
fashion  of  his  countenance  was  altered  ?” 

J . The  “ appearance.” 

Teache)\  Yes;  just  that,  and  that  only.  Fashion 
is  not  appearance  now ; it  is  to  hide  appearance. 
Humbling  recollection  it  ought  ever  to  be  that 
clothes  came  into  the  world  with  sin.  They  are 
evidences  of  lost  innocence ; and  the  less  pride  we 
show  in  them  the  better.  The  old  English  word 
occurs  six  times  in  the  Scriptures,  and  is  almost 
always  translated  by  the  word  “appearance”  or 
“ form.”  The  “ form  ” of  his  countenance,  then,  was 
altered  ; it  appeared  otherwise  than  it  usually  did. 
Mark’s  little  word  here,  “ shining  exceeding  white 
as  snow,”  and  then  his  comparison,  “so  as  no  fuller 
on  earth  can  white  them,”  is. one  of  the  liner  illus- 
trations of  Mark’s  peculiar  way  of  describing  a 
scene,  lie  mentions  fewer  scenes,  but  more  in  de- 
tail, than  the  other  three  evangelists. 

“ AVhite  and  glistering.”  Will  the  Rev.  Mr 
W tell  ns  whaf  these  words  mean? 


A BIBLF- CLASS  LESS  OK 


229 


W . Very  bright  in  appearance. 

Teacher,  Yes;  flashing  brightness,  like  the  rays 
or  beams  of  a star,  or  the  glancing  of  light  upon  a 
spear’s  point.  It  refers  to  a radiating  light.  Where 
this  peculiar  light  came  from,  or  what  it  was,  has 
exercised  the  speculative  gifts  of  great  and  anxious 
commentators,  but  they  only  darken  the  light  in 
more  senses  than  one.  Whether  the  light  came 
from  within  or  from  without,  we  do  not  know.  All 
we  know  is  that  it  was  this  peculiar,  splendid  mani- 
festation of  the  Saviour  in  the  immediate  presence 
of  these  three  chosen  disciples,  that  filled  them  with 
such  wonder  and  awe.  Nearer  to  heaven  no  men 
could  get  than  they  were  permitted  to  get  that 
night.  Nearer  to  heaven  no  men  can  get  than 
vrhen  two  or  three  meet  together  in  his  name, 
and  he  is  in  the  midst.  Whilst  he  was  there  it 
seemed  that  he  was  not  left  alone.  The  disciples 
discover,  the  moment  they  look  up,  that  he  has 
companions.  Who  else  appear  ? 

Scholar.  Moses  and  Elias. 

Teacher.  Yes ; Moses  as  the  representative  of  the 
Law,  Elias  as  the  ,i*epresentative  of  the  Prophets— 
the  representatives  of  the  old  dispensation  meeting 


230 


A BIBLE-CLASS  LESS  OK. 


with  Peter,  James,  and  John  as  representatives  of 
the  new ; the  one  likewise  representing  the  dead, 
the  other  the  living  saints. 

Teacher.  To  Mr.  P . Was  there  anything  pe- 

culiar about  Moses’  death  and  burial  ? 

P . There  seemed  to  have  been  a dispute  be- 

tween Satan  and  Michael  concerning  his  body. 

Teacher.  Yes,  and  you  remember  that  he  went 
up  to  Mount  Nebo  to  die,  and  no  record  was  made 
of  his  death,  or  of  the  place  of  his  burial,  but  we 
are  told  that  the  Lord  buried  his  body.  Then  there 
is  a singular  expression  of  Jude  in  reference  to  the 
Devil  and  the  Archangel  contending  about  his 
body.  Some  commentators  say  that  in  Moses  we 
have  another  case  of  unseen  and  unrecorded  trans- 
lation,  and  that  his  .body  is  now  in  heaven  as 
Elijah’s  is,  and  that  in  this  glorification  of  the 
eartlily  body  before  death  in  the  case  of  our  Sav- 
iour, there  were  added  for  illustration  and  ex- 
liibition  the  two  cases  of  glorified  bodies  after 
death. 

Mr.  W , 1 will  ask  you  a question:  Did 

Elijah  go  uj)  in  the  whirlwind,  or  in  the  chariot  of 
lire*  ? I low  did  1k‘  go  uj)  ? 


A BIBLE- CLASS  LESSON. 


231 


W . He  went  up  in  the  whirlwind,  in  the 

chariot  of  fire. 

Teacher,  Well,  sir,  almost  every  Snnday-scholar 
asks  that  question,  and  almost  every  teacher  an- 
swers that  the  chariot  was  there  to  take  him  up. 
Perhaps  he  went  up  in  the  chariot  and  the  chariot 
in  the  whirlwind,  but  it  does  not  say  so.  The 
record  says  that  he  went  up  in  the  whirlwind.  A 
note  of  caution,  merely,  to  teachers  to  observe  the 
text  strictly  and  with  great  care. 

But  I would  like  to  call  yonr  attention  particu- 
larly to  the  next  verse:  “Who  appeared  in  glory 
and  spake  of  his  decease  which  he  should  accom- 
plish at  Jerusalem.”  Why  did  not  Peter  ask  about 
that  ? It  was  a question  that  had  deeply  interested 
him.  He  did  not  get  much  comfort  from  the  dis- 
ciples. They  did  not  realize  their  state  at  all.  All 
the  comfort  he  could  get  now  must  be  from  Moses 
and  Elias.  But  they  did  not  satisfy  his  curiosity. 
Here  was  Elijah  translated  without  death,  and  here 
was  Moses,  concerning  whom  there  was  at  least  the 
same  mysterious  probability,  and  the  natural  sub- 
ject of  conversation,  in  Peter’s  view,  would  be  the 
state  of  the  dead.  Surely  now  his  inquiring  in* 


232 


A GLASS  LESSON. 


terest  will  be  rewarded.  There  was  every  provo- 
cation to  these  speculative  questions.  But  no ! 
When  Moses  and  Elijah  came  they  had  something 
better  to  talk  about ; and  we  have  no  record  that 
any  of  the  disciples  made  any  inquiries  concerning 
these  mysteries.  The  simple  story  of  the  cross  was 
the  all-absorbing  theme.  ‘‘  The  decease  which  he 
should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem”  was  the  subject 

of  their  sweet  converse.  Mr.  S , will  you  tell 

us  vdiat  is  meant  by  his  “ decease?” 

S . His  death. 

Teacher.  Yes;  literally  and  more  fully,  his  exo- 
dus, or  exit.  Now  let  us  note  here  more  particu 
larly,  the  meeting  together  of  the  old  and  new 
dispensations,  in  this  whole  exhibition.  Here  we 
have  Peter  suggesting  that  three  tabernacles  should 
be  erected.  Here  was  the  appearance  of  the  She- 
chinah,  and  the  ])resence  of  the  Saviour.  Here  was 
tlie  conversation  about  the  Saviour’s  decease,  or 
literally  exodus,  and  Peter  seems  to  have  caught 
the  word  from  this  spot,  and  afterwards  applies  it 
to  liis  own  decease  (2  Peter  1.  15).  And  here  we 
liave  all  the  old  appearances,  the  pillar  of  cloud, 
and  the  fire,  and  the  presence  of  God  in  Christ,  so 


A BIBLE- GLASS  LESSOK 


233 


that  when  Peter  begins  to  speak,  his  very  first 
suggestion  is  that  they  should  build  tabernacles  as 
in  the  exodus  of  God’s  ancient  people.  So  that  it 
may  well  be  believed  that  the  whole  scene  was 
meant  to  be  a vivid  picture  to  the  minds  of  the 
gazing  disciples  of  the  absolute  oneness  of  the  old 
dispensation  with  the  new. 

R W . Shall  I ask  a question?  May 

we  learn,  and  is  it  a fitting  lesson  just  here,  in 
relation  to  the  conversation  of  the  two  heavenly 
visitants,  that  the  subject  most  interesting  to  Chris- 
tians when  they  meet,  should  be  Christ,  and  that 
this  subject  should  fill  and  engage  them  more  than 
anything  else  ? 

Teacher,  Most  certainly.  It  is  the  one  subject  of  • 
a prayer-meeting ; the  only  one  in  a union  prayer- 
meeting. It  is  the  one  that  binds  saints  on  earth 
and  in  heaven  together.  It  is  the  one  theme, 
Christ. 

How  much,  Mr.  L , did  Moses  and  Elias 

understand  about  “the  decease  which  he  should 
accomplish  at  Jerusalem?”  How  much  did  the 
Old  Testament  saints  understand  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment theology  ? 


234  A BIBLE-CLASS  LESSOK 

L . I suppose  they  recognized  the  Messiah 

in  the  types  and  shadows  which  set  him  forth. 

Teacher,  Somebody  saw  the  day  of  Christ  afar 
off.  Who  was  it? 

Scholar,  Abraham. 

Teacher,  Yes,  and  in  the  promise  made  to  his 
seed.  He  saw  the  day  of  Christ. in  the  person  of 
his  own  son  Isaac,  who  was  a type  of  Christ.  The 
foot  of  the  cross  was  planted,  not  only  on  the  hill, 
but  on  the  very  spot,  where  the  ram  was  found 
caught  by  the  horns  in  the  thicket  at  the  time 
when  Abraham  was  saved  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac. 
And  it  may  be  that  the  ancient  Israelites,  in  every 
part  of  their  worship,  saw  Christ  as  distinctly  as 
• we  see  him,  and  understood  as  much  as  was  neces- 
sary for  them  to  understand  of  the  atonement,  to 
be  saved.  Surely  we  have  it  revealed  to  us  that 
those  who  are  in  glory  still  retain  an  interest  in, 
and  cognizance  of,  all  that  transpires  in  the  prog- 
ress of  Clirist’s  kingdom  on  the  earth.  The  de- 
cease which  Christ  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem 
was  the  link  between  the  old  and  tlie  new  dispen- 
sations. Moses  and  Klias  doubtless  knew  as  much 
as  Peter  and  James  and  John  did. 


A BIBZi:- CLASS  LESSOK 


235 


P . Did  not  their  knowledge  cover  his  entire 

work  and  life  on  the  earth  ? 

Teacher,  Yes.  No  doubt  they  took  an  interest 
in  the  whole  plan  and  work  of  redemption,  in  all 
its  progress  and  accomplishment.  Let  me  call  you 
specially  to  observe  one  remarkable  illustration 
afforded  in  this  narrative.  Moses  was  introduced 
to  us  as  one  of  the  feeblest  of  human  kind — in  an 
ark  of  bulrushes  upon  the  water — a lost  child — a 
little  city  mission  child,  if  jon  have  a mind  to  call 
it  so — a waif,  thrown  out  upon  the  current  of  the 
world  with  nothing  but  absolute  neglect  and  ruin 
before  it.  Just  at  this  juncture  God's  providence 
interferes  to  rescue  him.  He  lives.  Forty  years 
after  you  find  him  acting  his  part’ in  Egypt.  Forty 
years  thereafter  you  find  him  at  the  head  of  the 
children  of  Israel.  Forty  years  after  that  on  Mount 
Nebo,  going  into  that  mysterious  form  of  death  to 
which  he  was  led  by  the  Spirit.  Then  he  disap- 
pears. Fifteen  hundred  years  pass  slowly  by,  and 
this  same  child,  and  leader,  reappears  in  glory,  still 
speaking,  still  knowing ! How  the  thought  of  im- 
mortality dawns  with  new  light  upon  us ! There 
rises  before  the  mind  a picture  of  what  immortality 


236 


A BIBLB- CLASS  LESS  OK 


means.  We  see  him  as  we  trace  the  steps  in  his 
wonderful  life,  and  we  begin  to  understand  what  it 
means  to  save  a child.  We  reflect  upon  the  years 
of  instruction  that  h^ve  passed  over  his^head  since 
the  day  he  was  rescued  from  the  ark  of  bulrushes, 
until  we  now  behold  him  on  the  mount  of  glory, 
and  feel  that  it  is  the  same  immortal  spirit,  going 
from  one  degree  of  knowledge  and  of  glory  to  an- 
other ! Is  it  not  well  for  us,  in  teaching  little  chil- 
dren, to  imagine  oftener  than  we  do,  some  Tabor- 
top  of  transfiguration  of  that  soul,  redeemed  and 
coming-  by  and  by  to  meet  us,  a glorified  spirit,  a 
companion  of  Moses  and  Elias,  arid  of  the  once 
crucified  but  now  risen  and  exalted  Christ,  reign- 
ing with  him  for  fevermore  ? 

Scholar.  Do  you  not  suppose  that  Moses  and  Elias 
received  instruction  after  they  got  to  heaven,  on  all 
that  belongs  to  Christ’s  kingdom  and  work  ? 

Teacher.  I have  no  doubt  they  received  instruc- 
tion, agreeing  to  all  the  intelligence  of  heaven.  If 
you  mean  to  ask  whether  they  might  have  re- 
c.eived  the  entire  knowledge  of  it  there,  whether  it 
c.onld  have  been  communicated  as  first  information 
tliere,  and  afterwards  increased,  T have  no  doubt 


A BIBLE- CLASS  LESSON. 


2o7 


of  that  either.  We  are  told  that  Moses  spoke  of 
Christ.  That  Moses  understood  the  plan  of  the 
atonement,  and  saw  it  in  the  sacrifices,  and  in  all 
the  system  he  gave  to  the  people,  I make  no  doubt. 
That  Jacob  saw  Christ  when  he  had  the  vision  at 
Bethel,  I make  no  doubt.  For  hereafter,  said  our 
Saviour,  ye  shall  see  angels  ascending  and  descend- 
ing upon  the  Son  of  man — making  a fair  parallel 
between  the  two  scenes.  The  Old  Testament  saints 
were  made,  through  visions  and  dreams,  to  see  the 
day  of  Christ  afar  off.  And  perhaps  it  was  not  a 
new  communication  of  information  to  tliem  in 
heaven,  but  a constant  gipwing  into  the  intelli- 
gence and  knowledge  of  God’s  plans  and  the 
scheme  of  redemption. 

Scholar.  Do  you  think  that  Bishop  Whately  is 
correct  in  saying  that  the  Old  Testament  saints  did 
not  think  that  the  Messiah  would  be  more  than  a 
man  ; that  he  would  not  be  God  ? 

Teacher.  I do  not  know  the  connection  of  his 
remark,  nor  the  point  of  history  of  which  he  is 
speaking;  whether  at  the  period  and  state  of  ig- 
norance, or  intelligence,  which  the  Jewish  nation 
exhibited.  At  the  time  of  Christ  the  state  of  the 


238 


A B/BZU-CLASS  LBSSOJV: 


Jewish  religion  was  deplorably  low;  they  held 
views  and  customs  entirely  at  variance  with  the 
prophecies  of  their  own  Scripture.  In  the  days  of 
the  glory  of  the  Israelites,  I believe  that  they 
understood  fully  what  the  Messiah  would  be,  and 
that  the  remark  quoted  would  not  apply. 

Scholar,  The  writer  is  speaking  of  the  accusation 
made  against  Christ  of  using  blasphemy  in  claim- 
ing to  be  God.  He  says  in  this  place  that  the  Old 
Testament  writers  had  not  had  the  idea  that  Mes- 
siah was  God. 

TeacJter,  David  certainly  had,  when  in  his  psalms 
he  called  him  Lord.  And  some  of  the  descriptions 
of  Christ  in  the  prophecies  leave  us  in  no  doubt  on 
that  point. 

Scholar.  Do  you  think  that  Moses  and  Elias, 
when  they  apj^eared,  had  as  clear  an  idea  of  the 
death  that  Christ  was  to  accomplish,  as  we  have 
now  ? 

Teacher.  Yes.  I think  they  knew  mucli  more 
tlian  we,  niid  that  any  man  learns  in  the  first  hour 
after  d(;ath  more  tlian  in  all  his  life  ])revious,  about 
that,  and  nil  the  points  of  our  religion.  Even  as 
the  glory  of  th(‘  Old  Testament  dispensation  has 


A BIBLF- CLASS  LESSON. 


239 


passed  away,  and  is  exceeded  by  this  glory  that 
remaineth.  Progress  is  the  law  in  Christ’s  earthly 
and  heavenly  kingdom. 

. Scholar,  Is  not  the  truth  of  recognition  of  friends 
in  heaven  taught  in  this  lesson? 

Teacher,  It  is,  most  plainly.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  comforting  and  glorious  lessons  to  be  derived 
from  this  whole  passage.  The  recognition  must 
have  been  instinctive  almost.  It  may  have  been 
that  our  Saviour  told  Peter  and  James  and  John 
who  Moses  and  Elias  were;  at  any  rate,  they  did 
know  them,  and  none  of  the  masters  in  speculation 
can  rob  the  scene  of  this,  its  crowning  lesson  of 
comfort  to  believers.  [The  teacher  here  animad- 
verted strongly  upon  Eaphael’s  inaccurate  repre- 
sentation of  the  facts  of  the  Transfiguration  Scene.] 

Teacher,  We  must  proceed.  The  narrative  says: 
‘‘But  Peter  and  they  that  were  with  him  were 
heavy  with  sleep,  and  when  they  were  awake  they 
saw  his  glory.”  The  lesson  we  would  find  here  is 
the  extreme  misfortune  of  being  dull  and  heavy  in 
the  prayer-meeting.  They  lost  a good  deal  by  it. 
They  did  not  see  Moses  and  Elias  come.  They  did 
not  go  up  so  explicitly  to  pray  as  Christ  did. 


240 


A BIBLU- CLASS  LESSON, 


Were  you  never  in  a forest  in  summer,  and  as  you 
reclined  at  the  foot  of  the  trees,  you  were  almost 
shut  out  from  the  air  of  heaven,  while  looking  up 
you  could  see  the  wind  breathing  over  the  tops  of 
the  trees,  shaking  the  foliage,  and  making  the  twigs 
tremble,  and  you  wished  that  you  were  only  high 
enough,  that  you  might  get  the  breath  that  was 
stirring  overhead  ? Just  so,  have  you  never  gone 
away  from  a prayer-meeting  feeling  that  you  had 
been  down  in  the  valley,  feeling  troubled  and  de- 
spondent, and  that  if  you  could  only  have  risen 
higher  you  might  have  had  joy  and  peace  and 
breathed  the  air  of  heaven  ? The  way  to  reach  this 
enjoyment  is  to  start  liigher.  Prepare  for  tlie  hour 
of  praye]\  Gret  yourself  on  the  high  ground  of  ex- 
pectation and  desire.  Like  our  Saviour  and  his  dis- 
ciples, go  up  into  the  mountain  to  pray.  Get  as 
liigh  as  you  can  above  the  din  and  turmoil  of  life, 
and  there  you  will  have  sweet  communion  with  the 
IMiister. 

‘‘And  it  came  to  pass,  as  they  departed  from 
him,  Peter  said  unto  Jesus,  Master,  it  is  good  for 
us  to  be  here;  arid  let  us  make  three  tabernacles,*’ 
&;c.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  tabernacles 


A BIBLE- CLASS  LESS  OK 


241 


and  of  the  whole  scene  as  suggesting  Jewish  history. 

“Not  knowing  Y/hat  he  said,”  &c., — the  narra- 
tive proceeds.  That  is,  Peter  was  thrown  into 
confusion  by  the  surpassing  splendor  and  unex- 
pected glory  of  the  vision.  Have  we  not  known 
men  similarly  affected  in  times  of  revival,  who  are 
dull  and  heavy  while  God  is  manifesting  his  glory 
by  his  Spirit,  and  who  wake  up  sometimes  in 
astonishment,  if  they  wake  up  at  all,  from  the 
slumber  with  which  they  greeted  the  work  at  its 
beginning  among  them  ? 

“While  he  thus  spake  there  came  a cloud  and 
overshadowed  them ; and  they  feared  as  they  en- 
tered into  the  cloud.  And  there  came  a voice  out 
of  the  cloud  saying,  This  i^  my  beloved  Son : hear 
him.”  “Thus,”  as  Dr.  Huntington  beautifully  puts 
it,  in  one  of  his  sermons,  “ as  one  enters  into  the 
deep  dark  providences  of  God  he  is  frightened ; but 
when  once  entered  in  he  discovers  the  form  of  the 
glorified  Christ.  On  entering  only  is  he  troubled.” 
A good  thought,  but  not  in  this  verse.  The  text 
here  means  that  only  Moses,  Elias  and  Christ  en- 
tered into  the  cloud.  Peter  and  James  and  John 
did  not  enter  in.  The  first  “ they”  refers  to  the 
• 11 


242 


A CLASS  LESSOir. 


disciples,  who  feared  when  “ they,”  the  others,  en- 
tered into  the  cloud.  The  voice  testifying  to 
Christ’s  glory,  came  to.  them  as  they  were  without 
the  cloud.  Peter  dwells  on  that  in  his  second 
epistle,  first  chapter,  17th  and  18th  verses,  where 
he  refers  to  the  voice  he  heard  in  the  Mount. 

‘‘And  when  the  voice  was  past,  Jesus  was  found 
alone.”  Mark  puts  it  very  finely:  “Suddenly, 
when  they  had  looked  round  about  they  saw  no 
man  any  more  save  Jesus  only  with  themselves.” 
Jesm  only  ! This  is  the  motto  of  every  true  spirit- 
ual life.  Jesus  only  ! If  we  had  been  there  would 
this  have  been  our  thought?  *J.  am  confident, 
rather,  that  some  of  us  would  have  been  ques- 
tioning Moses  about  the  burning  bush,  or  his  mys- 
terious sepulture,  or  the  plagues  of  Egypt  and  the 
exodus,  with  the  passage  of  the  Eed  Sea,  and 
many  other  things ; but  the  one  thing  for  the  dis- 
ciples to  see  was  Jesus  and  Jesus  only  ! 

“ And  they  kept  it  close,  and  told  no  man  in 
those  days  any  of  those  things  which  they  had 
seen” — by  express  command,  doul)tless,'  of  our  Sav- 
iour. ^riiosc  around  about  them  were  not  able  to 
bear  such  extraordinary  truths;  they  were  too  ad- 


A BIBLE-GLASS  LESSON. 


243 


vanced  for  them,  and  Jesus  must  take  his  disciples 
with  him  to  communicate  them,  even  to  them, 
lest  also  they  should  not  receive  them.  But  what 
a bond  of  union  between  these  three  men  must  this 
God-committed  secret  have  been ! How  they  would 
talk  to  each  other  about  it  in  the  days  that  succeed- 
ed, before  his  resurrection ! What  proof  they  would 
have  in  their  own  heart  of  the  greatness  and  the 
glory  of  their  Divine  Master  ! I pity  with  all  my 
heart  those  Christians  whom  I sometimes  meet, 
who,  when  called  upon  to  give  testimony  for  Christ, 
are  forced  to  speak  of  their  innermost,  tenderest, 
closest  feelings  in  regard  to  Christ.  It  seems  to  me 
that  almost  every  Christian  has  some  Tabor-top 
experience  that  he  cannot  talk  about  till  after  the 
resurrection. 

Scholar.  And  now  what  would  you  say  was  the 
chief  lesson  of  all  this  passage? 

Teacher.  I have  no  doubt  that  the  design  of  the 
whole  scene  was  to  show  the  disciples  in  that  pecu- 
liar posture  of  their  minds  to  which  they  had  come 
at  the  very  moment  of  his  humiliation,  that  the 
Saviour  was  glorified  and  Divine;  to  show  them 
that  even  in  the  immediate  prospect  of  the  cruci- 


244 


A BIBLi:- CLASS  LESSOK 


fixion  our  Saviour  was  tlie  chosen  of  the  Father, 
the  well-beloved  of  Grod.  It  was  necessary  that 
some  extraordinary  demonstration,  to  confirm  their 
faith,  should  be  made,  especially  to  those  who  were 
to  be  prominent  in  the  establishment  of  the  church. 
And  I am  accustomed  to  look  upon  the  transfigu- 
ration scene  very  much  in  the  light  of  the  record 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  : after  the  covenant 
of  redemption  in  Christ  the  Son  was  made  with 
God  the  Father,  and  after  he  had  said,  “Lo,  I come, 
in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me,  to  do 
thy  will,  0 God!” — after  that  early  arrangement 
with  the  Son  and  the  Father,  through  which  the 
redemption  of  the  world  was  committed  by  the 
Father  to  the  Son,  then  Jesus,  as  the  Son,  came 
forth  from  the  bosom  of  the  Father ; and  going  to 
the  earth,  as  he  passed  through  the  ranks  of  the 
angels  on  his  way  through  the  gates  of  pearl  (if  I 
may  make  the  scene  so  graphic  as  that)  as  he  passed 
out  of  heaven,  and  when  the  shining  throngs  began 
to  undcmtand  that  the  Prince  of  the  Kingdom  was 
going  down  to  be  crucified  upon  this  wandering, 
rebellious  planet — at  that  very  moment,  lest  there 
should  come  to  them  even  one  derogatory  thought 


A CLASS  LESS  OK 


245 


concerning  him,  the  order  goes  forth  from  the 
highest  throne,  ‘^Let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship 
him !”  And  just  so  to  the  disciples.  When  the 
full  doctrine  of  the  crucifixion  hurst  upon  Peter^s 
mind  he  said,  “Let  it  not  be  so.  Lord.”  It  was 
necessary  then,  that  at  that  point,  a splendid  dem- 
onstration of  the  obedience  and  devotion  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  should  be  made.  These  I con- 
ceive to  be  the  main  purposes  of  the  transfigura- 
tion. 

Rev,  Mr,  T- . How  will  you  manage,  with 

such  a view,  the  16th  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of 
2d  Peter,  “ For  we  have  not  followed  cunningly 
devised  fables  when  we  made  known  unto  you  the 
power  and  coming  of  our  Lord  J esus  Christ,  but 
were  eye-witnesses  of  his  majesty,”  and  then  the 
other  fact  that  the  transfiguration  occurs  immedi- 
ately after  the  promise  of  the  Saviour  in  the  three 
Gospels,  of  his  coming. 

Teacher,  Are  you  certain  that  they  refer  to  his 
second  coming?  We  will  not  enter  upon  this  now. 
I think  we  hold  the  truth  together,  but  we  have 
not  the  time  to  develop  it. 

R.  W Can  we  not  get  something  home 


246 


A BIBLE- CLASS  LESSON. 


close  to  our  own  experience,  right  here?  Here 
were  three  who  were  soon  to  go  forth  to  a baptism 
of  great  suffering.  They  were  now  getting  views 
of  the  preciousness  of  the  Eedeemer  such  as  they 
had  never  had  before.  When  we  enter  into  suffer- 
ing at  the  command  of  Christ,  shall  we  not  also 
receive  from  him  sweet  comfort  and  consolation  to 
strengthen  us,  and  are  not  these  views  of  him  given 
to  us  to’ enable  us  to  pass  through  the  coming  sor- 
rows he  has  appointed  us  unto  ? 

Teacher.  Truly,  this  is  the  design.  I think  that 
God  never  gives  us  the  full  manifestation  of  his 
Spirit  but  he  would  strengthen  us  for  some  trial, 
or  build  us  up  against  some  attack,  or  prepare  us 
against  a coming  disappointment.  In  sunshine  he 

makes  us  ready  for  the  storm.  Brother  W , 

my  heart  is  very  full  of  practical  illustrations  that 
might  elucidate  and  apply  this  precious  portion  of 
the  word,  especially  to  younger  scholars.  But  I 
do  not  propose  to  instruct  the  instructors  before 
me.  I see  they  do  not  need  it. 

Scholar.  What  do  you  make  the  leading  thought 
of  tlie  lesson  ? 

Tccw.her.  r>esides  that  I have  mentioned,  I should 


A BIBLE- GLASS  LESS  OK 


247 


make  the  following  leading  thoughts : the  doctrine 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  the  recognition  of 
friends,  and  the  interest  in  heaven  in  regard  to 
things  on  the  earth,  and  the  revelation  of  a future 
state  in  so  far  as  this  may  be  considered  a reve- 
lation. 


I 


X G^IN  7 23  OB 
4^C  - D 


..T'  . 


4^.: 


K UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

II 

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II 

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L 3 

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D84843140  J 

